The Power of Love
by NotJana
Summary: COMPLETE. Sam goes to Denver, apparently visiting friends she never told anyone about. Who are they and what role do they play in her life? How will her friends in Colorado Springs react? AU, Sam focused at first, SJ later on.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer_: Stargate doesn't belong to me … and never will.

A/N: The story starts at the end of season 5s episode 2001 and moves from that point on. So there'll definitely be spoilers involved… It's only my second story so please R&R as it's the best way to improve my writing. But now on with the story …

xoxoxoxoxo

**The Power of Love**

Chapter 1:

Note to myself: falling through the Stargate from about 15 feet above is another way to painfully dislocate your shoulder. Not that I didn't dislocate my shoulder before but that doesn't make it hurt less. Bless Janet for her happy pills! I sure know why she turned out to be one of my best friends ever. Not that I had lots of them. Really good friends I mean. Not after mom died anyway as I was too busy studying to make the pain of loosing her and him as well go away. Uh oh, think happy thoughts. I'm so not wanting to go there! Okay, he's back in my life now and I don't know if I'd made it to where I'm now without his support. But still ...

"Hey Carter, you decent? Doc said you're free to go. But she wants me to remind you to stay off-base for 3 days once the debriefing is over!" her CO Jack O'Neill cheerfully called from outside the curtains around her bed.

"Come in," she answers relieved. She didn't want to swell on those dark thoughts and to be honest, she could use some help with her boots.

"So Carter, watcha gonna do once the big boss dismisses us?" Jack O'Neill asked while bending down to help with her boots. "You know, I thought about some fishing and relaxing and … fishing," he continued waggling his eye-brows suggestively at her.

Sam couldn't help but smile at her CO. Telling off Kinsey was obviously very good for his mood and she wasn't able to stay unaffected by his cheerfulness. "Thanks for the offer, sir. But I think I'm going to do something more fun."

"Carter, how can there possibly be something more fun than fishing? I'm truly hurt!" To emphasise his pain he put a hand over his heart. Yep, there is nothing better than telling off some annoying idiot like Kinsey. Apart from some major Goa'uld ass kicking that is.

"Sorry sir. But I have other things in mind when thinking of doing something fun!" Not that I would tell you what I'm really going to do, Sam added in her mind.

"You know that work isn't meant to be fun. It's supposed to be … well … work."

Sam only raised her eyebrows at that and got of the bed heading for the exit. Jack just shook his head wondering how she managed to give a whole answer with this one gesture. He had to admit they did have fun at work after all. Well sometimes that is. Like today with Kinsey. And Sam just told him this. With her eyebrows. Hey wait! That was just one eyebrow! All the practicing while being trapped in the infirmary must have finally paid off. Chuckling to himself remembering when he caught her practicing at night the last time they were the guests of honour around here, he called after Carter.

"Oh come on Carter! You know what I mean! Work can be fun but it's not meant to be the fun when you are supposed to be not working. Well, that sounded strange even to myself but you know what I mean! You're supposed to be a genius after all!"

Catching up with her he waggled his eyebrows at her again. And got a real smile as reward. That was exactly what he was hoping for. He preferred her smile to the distressed way she looked when he came to get her from the infirmary. Mission accomplished he thought just before they entered the briefing room.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Dismissed. And Major Carter, I don't want to see you on base until Monday. Understood?" General Hammond finished the briefing, his eyes sparkling with good humour.

"Yes sir."

"Good, I've put SG1 on downtime till then and you're free to go as long as you've finished all your paperwork!" After explicitly looking at Colonel O'Neill he turned and went into his office.

"So Carter, watcha really gonna do?" Jack asked as soon as they left the briefing room.

"Well, I'm going to catch some things from my lab and probably head home afterwards."

"Oh for crying out loud! You're supposed to have fun! Not work on some of your projects! Do I really have to make it an order?"

Turning to face Daniel she rolled her eyes and said "No, it won't be necessary, sir. No work this weekend. I promise."

"Yeah sure. As if I'd believe that," Jack muttered under his breath before sighing theatrically. "Well kids, looks like I've got to do a bit of paperwork before going home. Daniel, stop snickering or you're going to do lots of MY paperwork tonight!"

"I wasn't snickering" Daniel answered pointedly.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Too."

"Not!"

Choosing that moment Teal'c turned to Sam, "Major Carter, do you need assistance in getting home? I believe it would be very unwise to try driving with the injury you have sustained today."

Daniel and Jack looked at each other and simultaneously said "I'll drive you!"

Looking incredulously at each other they both continued "No, you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't."

"I do!"

At this point Sam couldn't contain her laughter any longer. It was just too funny to watch their little game. Additional to their usual banter this time both said exactly the same thing at the same time. Though it was probably unwise to basically laugh at her CO she couldn't help herself. Hell, even Teal'c was smiling! So how was she supposed to stay serious? Well, she could always blame it on the painkillers anyway. Oh look, they stopped arguing and started looking at her like she was going mad. Yep, right now would be about the perfect time to stop laughing.

"Uh, sorry sir. Must be the pain medication or something," Sam said sheepishly.

"Ah, pain medication," he said nodding his head smiling slightly. "So when are you ready to go?"

"O'Neill, have you not to finish your paperwork yet? I believe it would be very unwise to leave the base without doing so."

"Oh Teal'c, come on. Carter needs a lift home, so she gets a lift home."

"Indeed. I believe Daniel Jackson is ready to go as well. Therefore it would be most wise to let him take Major Carter home."

"See, Jack. I told you so!" Daniel added grinning.

"Oh fine! Go knock yourself out. I'm in my office if anybody should care." Jack reluctantly gave in.

"Sorry sir. Have a nice weekend. You too, Teal'c," Sam said smiling at both of them before turning to get her things from her lab.

"Yeah, bye Jack, Teal'c," Daniel waved, before following Sam.

"Hey T, looks like we're left behind. So watcha going to do?" Jack asked Teal'c hoping to avoid the dreaded paperwork somewhat longer.

"I am going to kel'nor'eem. I wish you good luck with your duties," Teal'c said tilting his head lightly. Jack could have sworn Teal'c was smiling at him. Oh come on, paperwork is really _really_ boring! So at least one has to try to avoid it as long as possible. Looks like the 'as long as possible' is over now. Sighing, Jack waved Teal'c goodbye before leaving for his office.

xoxoxoxoxo

"So Sam, what _are_ you going to do the next 3 days?" Daniel asked curiously. He actually was in a pretty good mood himself so he couldn't help adding a "Fishing?" for good measure.

As Sam was currently watching out the window Daniel didn't see her rolling her eyes at his question. He also missed the mischievous grin on her face just before she turned to face him, her face showing no emotions once again. Well, two can play this game!

"Actually, don't tell anyone but the Colonel asked me to do just that and I agreed. He is going to pick me up after he finished his paperwork and we'll be on our way to Minnesota." Sam replied with a straight face. "I hope you don't mind. Do you?" she added sheepishly.

"Wha … bu … how … ?"

It was actually a good thing they had to stop at a traffic light as Daniel still made a very good fish impression. Even in his mind he couldn't build a coherent sentence and that meant quite a lot! However, seeing Daniel so completely dumbfounded Sam couldn't contain her laughter any longer. That of course earned her quite a pout from him.

"Sorry Daniel but you have to admit you started the whole thing. To be honest, the Colonel _did_ ask me if I wanted to go fishing though." Sam said once she managed to stop laughing.

As Daniel still seemed to be pouting Sam sighed and chose to tell him her plans. Kind of anyway.

"Well, believe it or not but I decided to put the free time to good use and go and visit some friends in Denver. It's not that I could sneak back into the SGC to get some work done so I might as well do something I meant to do for quite some time," realising she started babbling Sam stopped herself before Daniel got suspicious one way or another.

"Denver? You never told me of some friends in Denver?" Daniel answered questioningly. He wasn't sure if she was joking once again so asking wouldn't hurt. Right?

"Really? I though I mentioned them. Anyway, they are a really nice couple and we met during my time at the pentagon. We met occasionally ever since they moved to Denver about 2 years ago."

"Okay, what are they like? How are you going to get there? Names, jobs, phone numbers?" Daniel asked seriously. Hm, maybe she is serious this time.

If he hadn't actually sounded that serious Sam would have laughed again. Instead she only rolled her eyes, this time clearly visibly for Daniel. This was one of those times she wished he wasn't like her brother. For one he wouldn't be so overprotective and two, well, she didn't have a date for quite some time … Not that she ever considered this a real possibility but sometimes it was fun to think 'what if'.

"Daniel I can watch after myself, you know?" Sam said completely hiding her actual thoughts.

This time Daniel didn't say anything but looked pointedly at her shoulder making Sam scowl. Hey, that was not fair! After all it wasn't her idea to fall through that wormhole! It was _Daniel_ who suggested foul play by the Ashen and _she_ was the one caught in the middle! Not to mention the Ambassador who had to pay the ultimate price. Sighing she had to admit that saving the planet – again – and therefore the people she loved was worth it. Even Daniel's bickering. But that didn't mean she had to tell him everything and especially not that particular detail of her life.

The rest of the drive to Sam's house was done in silence as both were deep in their thoughts. Daniel still wondered why the hell Sam wouldn't tell him more about her 'friends' and he decided to give Janet a call later tonight. She was Sam's best friend after all and might be willing to share something. Janet loved to gossip after all. Yes, that's what he was going to do. This particular problem solved he got out of the car helping Sam bringing her things inside.

"Okay, do you need anything else? Groceries? Or is there food in your fridge for once?" Daniel asked lightly having overcome the darker mood he found himself after their talk in the car.

"Daniel, why would I need groceries when I'm going away anyway?" Sam answered amused.

"You really meant it? I thought you were kinda… " One look at Sam's face told him to better stop. Sam definitely wasn't amused anymore.

"Never mind. So you're all set?"

"Actually, why don't you let me pack a few things and then you can drive me to the bus station. It isn't too far off your way home anyway. I'd really appreciate this." Sam finally answered deciding when Daniel really wanted to help than she could as well use his offer. Maybe then he'd believe she was serious about her little trip!

It took her almost 30 Minutes to make a couple of phone calls and pack the things she'd need for the weekend. Apparently dislocating your shoulder isn't the best way if you want to pack fast. When she was finally finished she felt somewhat bad that Daniel had to wait that long for her when she was pretty sure he was looking forward to the weekend too. Even if he just wanted to get to work on the translations he brought with him.

Ready to apologise for the long wait Sam entered her living room only to see Daniel already engrossed in one of her books. And one of the romantic novels too! Though she'd never admit to reading one of those she found them quite good to give her mostly overactive mind a couple of hours of rest as she could read them without having to think about it. And – as weird as it may sound – it helped her solving the complex problems her work brought with it. Hey wait, Daniel reading a romantic novel and not even hearing her enter the room? This sounded pretty much like good black mail material! _She_ could always say Cassie forget the book when she was last visiting Sam but Daniel had no excuse for reading it.

"Sorry to disturb you but we have to get going if I want to catch the next bus!" Sam said grinning evilly.

Turning as red as probably possible Daniel turned to Sam trying to say something but he just opened and closed his mouth as he didn't know what to say.

"Cassie forgot the book last time she was here and what is your excuse?" Sam continued still grinning. It wasn't even a lie as this one was Cassie's. And as long as Daniel didn't find her own stock of romantic novels she was fine.

"I … uhm … well," Daniel tried to save at least some of his dignity but failed miserable. Clearing his throat he put the novel away coming over to Sam and relieving her of her bag. "We better get going then before you actually do miss the bus."

Leading the way to the door he added, "By the way, this one might belong to Cassie but what about the ones behind those books on wormhole theory?"

Busted! Now it was Sam's turn to turn red. Oh well, here goes the black mail opportunity. At least Daniel won't comment on this cause _he'd_ be in for much more teasing then her.

But as embarrassing as these little revelations might have been it brought the light banter back they lost somewhere on the drive to Sam's house. This time the drive wasn't silent and they talked about the newest gossip going around the SGC. Just because they were both scientist didn't mean they'd only talk about science. Nevertheless, they'd never admit to anyone they also enjoyed these sort of conversations. Once they arrived at the bus station Sam bought the ticket while Daniel was carrying her bag. She was quite grateful for that because her shoulder was definitely throbbing now as the pain meds Janet gave her started to wear off and she still had to wait a while till she could take some more.

"So, you sure you're going to be okay?" Daniel asked concerned once he put her bag in the bus.

"Yes, I'm fine." Sam answered seriously. "Don't worry. I'll use the weekend to rest and do anything but work. Considering the work you smuggled out of the mountain you won't even realise I'm gone!" she added on a lighter note.

Daniel had at least the decency to blush before he gave her a quick hug. "Take care, okay?"

"I will," Sam answered kissing his cheek before she entered the bus. This might get interesting once she comes back she thought. But brushing those thoughts aside for now she watched Daniel leaving the bus station while the bus started too.

xoxoxoxoxo

Just as it started to get really uncomfortable for Sam the bus finally arrived in Denver. She took some more pain killers, grabbed her bag and left the bus looking for someone to meet her.

She didn't have to wait long when a well loved voice called out "Sammy!" Shaking her head at this nickname she turned around to the only person who could call her that without having to fear any sort of retribution. Looking around she saw the tall handsome figure merely a couple of steps away. Before she could say anything he hugged her enthusiastic but still careful due to her shoulder.

"Hey stranger," Sam said happily before giving him a quick kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Did I mention this is an AU? No? Oh well, must be the age or something .

_

* * *

__Previously:_

_Just as it started to get really uncomfortable for Sam the bus finally arrived in Denver. She took some more pain killers, grabbed her bag and left the bus looking for someone to meet her._

_She didn't have to wait long when a well loved voice called out "Sammy!" Shaking her head at this nickname she turned around to the only person who could call her that without having to fear any sort of retribution. Looking around she saw the tall handsome figure merely a couple of steps away. Before she could say anything he hugged her enthusiastic but still careful due to her shoulder._

_"Hey stranger," Sam said happily before giving him a quick kiss._

**Chapter 2**

"Hey yourself" he said smiling, "Looks like you found yourself in trouble once again, huh?" he added concerned.

"It's nothing, just a dislocated shoulder. I'm fine," Sam tried to reassure him though she could tell he wasn't exactly convinced. "It isn't life threatening or anything, you know?" she continued, rolling her eyes at him.

"Maybe not life threatening but you still need me to get you from the bus station because you couldn't drive yourself and here I am carrying your bag. And I can see that you're hurting. So don't tell me it's nothing Sammy. I'm just concerned, which by the way is part of the job description of being the big brother," he answered seriously.

"I know Jake, and I love you even more for that. But the possibility of getting hurt is part of the small print in my job description with the Air Force too. I'm old enough to know what I'm doing," Sam said while moving her hand to stop him from saying anything, "and I also understand that you'll never stop worrying about me. Which, by the way, is something I wouldn't want to change for anything in the world and you know this. So why don't we pretend we finished talking about the pros and cons of my job and just move on? After all you've got to admit that by now we can have this conversation in our sleep!" Sam finished smiling up at him.

Well, Jake had to admit they probably had this conversation a million times by now and he _did_ know both of their arguments by heart. And though Sam was still smiling at him he could also see the tiredness in her eyes. Realising another one of there little arguments wouldn't change anything anyway he let the topic drop. Damn, why couldn't he have a little sister who'd listen to him all the time doing something less dangerous? Because then his life would only be half as interesting he answered the question himself. If he was honest with himself he wouldn't want it any different. Shaking his head he started to smile too. After all who could resist his sister's full blown smile?

"Okay, okay. You win. But I am still allowed to be concerned, right?" he asked while opening the car door for Sam.

"Yes you are," Sam answered glad that this particular talk was over. For now anyway. "So, how are Jocelyn and the kids?"

"Great, though I'm still trying to decide who of my lovely kids will be responsible for my first grey hair," he answered chuckling, "Then again, I'm not so sure if it won't be caused by a certain sister of mine!" Jake couldn't help to add.

Luckily he was driving so he was safe from being hit by Sam. Which of course didn't mean she couldn't scowl at him. Anyway, she couldn't understand why she would possibly be responsible for any grey hair of his!

Getting as comfortable as possible in the car seat she looked over at her brother who was quietly singing along the radio. That was something he loved doing as long as she could remember, something he picked up from their mom. Being almost 5 and exactly 6 years older than Mark and Sam he'd often help looking after the two little ones while their dad was away. And while Sam truly loved to play with Mark and his friends she absolutely adored and looked up to Jacob Jr., or Jake for short. So despite their dad being away most of the time they were all pretty close and what you'd consider a happy family.

But this changed when she was 13 and their mom died. One way or another they all blamed their dad for her death and everything started to go south afterwards. She still remembered the big fight between Jake and Jacob which caused Jake to leave their current family home right after the funeral. He was 19 and therefore independent but he also broke Sam's heart for a second time within a couple of days. While she was quite the tomboy before she found the only way to cope with all that was to concentrate on school. But that also meant she stopped hanging out with Mark and their friends, subsequently shutting him more and more out of her life too – not that she had much of a life back then anyway. Now Mark wasn't only mad at Jacob but also at Jake for hurting Sam the way he did. Although Sam wouldn't or couldn't get close to Mark anymore, he did continue to look after her, especially in school as they were both in the same year with Sam being the youngest. So after all they've been through Mark couldn't understand Sam's decision to join the Air Force which finally drove him away from her too.

Jake, regretting leaving the kids - as he liked to call his siblings more to annoy them than for anything else - tried to get in contact with both of them again a couple of month after their mom died. Despite them never answering his letters he kept taps on both and even came to their various graduations throughout the years. It took Sam a long time, but when she was in desperate need for help she finally turned back to him and they slowly built up their relationship again. Nowadays they were as close as they were as kids, if not even closer. Although she didn't want to dwell on the painful reason for _that_ particular detail of their new relationship.

On the other side though she never lost complete contact with Mark it still took several years to get closer to him again too. Later she even managed for Mark and Jake to start talking again. Though that wasn't as tough as getting Mark and their dad back together. And while she had a better understanding for their dad ever since he became the host to Selmak she hadn't managed to convince Jake to finally forgive him as well. Or even speak to him on the phone. Hell, he even officially changed his name to Jake Pullman when he married Jocelyn! Oh well, she and Jocelyn would have to work on that harder but both were determined to get father and son back together. They were one family after all.

Ironically enough despite hating his dad more than anyone else Jake did exactly look like him. Well, he was taller and still had all of his dark hair and it wasn't grey, yet, but apart from that there was no denying their close kinship.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jake asked concerned and interrupting her musings, "We are almost there."

"Yeah, I'm just … thinking. That's all."

"Uhm Sam, you never in your life stopped thinking!" he answered playfully trying to make Sam smile. Well Sam's snorting he got as response wasn't exactly a smile but still much better than the serious face she had made before.

"So what are you and the little munchkin doing for the weekend? Susan and Aaron are going away over the weekend, right?"

"Yeah, they are going to celebrate Aaron's latest promotion. He actually was quite happy that I could make it today so he could surprise Susan with the trip. I mean, they both really deserve it! Anyway, I don't really have plans but we'll probably sleep in tomorrow and then see what the day brings." Sam answered happily looking forward to the weekend. "Maybe we'll go to the Zoo or something and of course we're coming to your barbeque tomorrow night."

"Which barbeque?" Jake asked as he was sure _he_ hasn't planned a barbeque for tomorrow night!

"Oh, the one Jocelyn and I talked about. Poor Jake, didn't your wife tell you about it?" Sam answered giggling which of course earned her a nasty look from Jake.

To be honest, he didn't mind the barbeque at all. Especially not when it meant making his sister happy and getting to spend some more time with her.

Just then the reached their final destination, a nice Denver neighbourhood with pretty houses and front lawns full of kids bikes and toys. Stopping in front of a blue-ish two-storey house Jake had just enough time to get Sam's bag out from the back seat when the door of the house opened and a little whirlwind came running towards them.

"Mom, dad! Mommy and Uncle Jake are here," the whirlwind turning out to be a 6 or 7-year old girl shouted happily back at the house before throwing herself in Sam's arm hugging her tightly.

_

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__So what do you think? Please push the little button down there and tell me about it!_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry about the delay but RL kept me kinda busy and sent a friend of mine to stay with me for a while, but I hope the length of this chapter will make up for it. Anyway I still hope to update once a week…

Thanks to everyone who sent a review! I really appreciate them and my muse absolutely loves them. Unfortunately she – I'm pretty sure she's a she, most of the time anyway - insists on writing things I never thought about, like the second part of this chapter…

_Previously: "Mom, dad! Mommy and Uncle Jake are here," the whirlwind turning out to be a 6 or 7-year old girl shouted happily back at the house before throwing herself in Sam's arm hugging her tightly._

**Chapter 3**

"Woah! Slow down, slow down Caity! I need to breath too!" Sam told the little girl happily.

"Breathing is overrated," came the serious reply. Now Sam couldn't help but burst out laughing at the little girls antics who in return started to giggle too.

"Caitlin Hope Carter! What about my hug or don't you like me anymore?" Jake whined after a couple of minutes. Though the big grin on his face kinda betrayed his words.

Giggling Caitlin or Caity for short went over to hug his uncle while Sam stood up to greet Aaron and Susan Carter as they came towards them. Funnily enough they shared the family name although there was no blood relation involved. Sam had to admit that this helped a lot when she desperately needed a safe place for her daughter without officially giving her up. As far as she knew everyone but Jake and his family, Catherine Langford and the couple in front of her thought she put her baby up for adoption. _If_ they knew she was pregnant in the first place. Well, she told Janet the general story too but that's about it. But what amazed her the most was how her daughter managed the whole having two moms thing without telling anyone about it, though it probably helped that all of her parents were really good friends so there was no animosity coming from that side… Brushing these thoughts aside she moved to give both Susan and Aaron a warm hug.

"Hi, how are you doing? Are you all packed up?" Sam asked.

"We are fine but you don't look too good yourself," Aaron answered looking concerned. "And we are all packed up and ready to go. Well, almost anyway," he added grinning at his stunned wife.

"We are?" Susan managed to say and after looking in the grinning faces of both Aaron and Caity she added accusingly, "You two knew Sam was coming earlier! How did you manage to keep silent when I usually can't tell you anything that is supposed to stay secret, hm?"

"Because we love you, Mom!" Caity said, "And Dad said it was supposed to be a big surprise for you. Don't worry, I helped him packing so he wouldn't forget anything," she added giggling while wiggling in Jake's arms to be put down.

Raising an eyebrow Sam looked amused from Aaron to Caity before saying to Susan, "Well, it might have something to do with me just calling a couple of hours ago and you apparently still being at work at that time. So I guess those two didn't have much time to spill the beans!"

That of course earned her similar shocked looks from both Aaron and her daughter.

"As much fun as this is I'm afraid I have to go home before the kids decide to make some major trouble!" Jake said smiling.

He handed Sam's bag over to Aaron without even looking in Sam's direction which of course earned him some nice scowling from her. After wishing Susan and Aaron a nice trip, kissing Caity goodbye which also involved a bit of tickling, he reminded Sam to take care of her shoulder and to call if she should need anything. He was her big brother _and_ only living 15 minutes away after all!

As soon as Jake left everyone else went inside. While Susan went upstairs to check that her husband had indeed packed everything they needed for their romantic weekend, the other three went into the kitchen to make dinner. Well, Sam was told to sit down and watch while Caity told Aaron what to do. Which in itself was pretty funny but watching Caity concentrating hard on instructing Aaron what to do and how to do it brought a big smile to Sam's face. Letting all the recent stress leave her body she enjoyed to simply watch her daughter interact with her surrogate dad. In between telling him what to do, who by the way more than once rolled his eyes at Sam making her giggle, Caity also managed to give her mom a short version of what happened recently.

It didn't take Susan long to finish packing and when she made it back to the kitchen Caity was already setting the dinner table. This time even Sam was allowed to help with the glasses as Caity couldn't reach them. Dinner itself was a fairly interesting affair as Caity seemed to talk instantly although she carefully avoided talking with her mouth full. How she managed to still hold most of the dinner conversation was a complete miracle to Sam and judging by the looks on Susan's and Aaron's face they were still amazed of Caity's just recently mastered new ability.

"Okay you two, why don't you get ready while Caity and I start to clean up?" Sam suggested once everyone finished eating.

"Nah, we'll help with everything and then we'll leave. You're still injured, remember?" Aaron replied while fiddling with his glass.

Rolling her eyes at him Sam shared an amused look with Susan before replying, "Oh come on, Aaron! Ever since we started dinner you're fiddling with everything you get into your fingers which basically tells me you can't wait to leave! Which, by the way, I can understand completely. And while I might have injured my shoulder I'm still very much capable of cleaning up after dinner."

"Don't worry dad, I'll help mommy cleaning up!" Caity added enthusiastically.

"Hey! Looks like you can't wait to get rid of us," he answered sounding hurt. "This screams after a tickling attack!" he added evilly before running after Caity who started to run away as soon as the word tickling left Aaron's mouth.

"Oh dear, sometime I really don't know who is the older one of those two," Susan said to Sam shaking her head. "Are you sure you'll manage?" she added somewhat concerned.

"You know, if I've gotten a dollar for everyone asking me that today I probably be a millionaire by now, or so it seems. I am fine, honestly. A dislocated shoulder isn't serious and although it might take somewhat longer to do things Caity and I will be fine." Sam added seriously. After all she could understand Susan's concern to some degree. "Anyway, I'm sure once you leave this house you won't have time to worry about me anymore," Sam added with a mischievous grin.

Aaron choose that moment to come back to the dining room, their bags in one hand and a squealing little girl unceremoniously thrown over his other shoulder.

"Okay sweetheart, I think I have everything. Let's go!" Aaron said soundly kissing his wife on the lips. "Bye Sam, have a nice weekend," he added before heading to the front door.

"DAD!" Caity all but squealed as she was still on his shoulder. "Let me down! You need to take mom, not me! I'm Caity!" she added.

Stopping abruptly Aaron put the bags down and carefully grabbed Caity from his shoulder. Holding her in front of him he scrutinized her face before saying, "Hey, you're right! You're definitely not my lovely wife but this annoying daughter of mine!" With that he put the with delight squealing Caity down before turning to his wife who was laughing just as hard as Sam and Caity.

"What?" he asked smiling, "Can't a guy mix up his wife with another lovely lady?"

Still smiling Susan came forward to pick Caity up to hug her tightly. "I'll miss you sweetheart. Behave and be nice to your mommy, okay?" she told her surrogate daughter.

"Yes mom. I love you!" Caity answered hugging her just as tightly before kissing her on the cheek.

After saying bye to her dad as well Caity stood in front of Sam, waving her surrogate parents goodbye. Once they went inside they cleaned the remains of their dinner away before retreating to the living room.

"Okay Caity, what do you want to do now?" Sam asked her daughter.

"Reading!" came the instant reply and before Sam could say anything else she was already gone to fetch a book.

Meanwhile Sam was getting comfortable on the rocking chair and as soon as Caity came back she climbed up on her mommy's lap carefully minding her injured shoulder and giving her the book to read. Although Caity was pretty good in reading herself nowadays she still preferred to cuddle up to Sam on the rocking chair letting her do all the reading.

xoxoxoxoxo

Daniel was pacing around his living room. He tried to concentrate on his translations for the last couple of hours but his mind was obviously more interested in his previous talk with Sam. Okay, she didn't seemed to be in the least concerned about the visit in Denver, in fact she appeared to really be looking forward to it. And that was something he couldn't understand. How could Sam be looking forward to meeting someone they never had talked about? He always thought they knew about all the important parts of their life. Even the oh so painful ones, like his parents death and his childhood in the foster care system, her moms death and the following estrangement of the Carter family. Hell, Sam even told him some stuff about Jonas Hanson! So how could it be that she never mentioned those friends in Denver? Especially as there didn't seemed to be any painful memories involved. Damn, no matter how long he thought about it he couldn't avoid feeling somewhat jealous and betrayed.

Pacing a bit more around the room and passing the phone more and more frequently he finally gave up and called Janet's number.

"Hello?" Janet answered the phone slightly out of breath. She had just opened her front door when the phone started to ring so she quickly went to the kitchen to drop her shopping bags before picking it up.

"Hi Janet it's Daniel," he replied already debating whether it was such a good idea to call Janet at all.

"Oh hi. Is something wrong? You aren't hurt right, cause you sound kinda funny to me?" she asked concerned, already slipping into doctor mode.

"Uh… no. I'm fine. Uhm, I was wondering if you know something about some friends of Sam in Denver!" he all but finally blurted out.

Janet needed a couple of seconds before she really understood Daniel's question as he was talking even faster than when he was overexcited or trying to make his point. But when it registered she sighed, well it looked like Sam's secret wouldn't stay that secret for a long time now. Daniel seemed to be on a mission and once he found a new project he wouldn't stop until he revealed all its secrets. Well, apparently he wasn't an archaeologist for nothing. Although Sam wasn't going to be happy about this.

"Janet? Are you still there?" Daniel asked interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Anyway, what do you mean by friends in Denver?" she asked just to be sure. After all she didn't want to blurt out anything Sam hadn't told him already. Not after this was such a difficult, meaning both a happy and painfull topic for Sam.

"Well, when I drove her home and asked what she's doing for the weekend she stated matter of factly that she already made plans to visit some good friends of her in Denver. I mean how come she never mentioned them before? Especially as they are apparently going back to her time at the Pentagon? It's not like Sam to just forget to mention something what's obviously that important to her!" Daniel started to ramble.

Oh boy. Daniel didn't sound too happy. In fact, he sounded pretty upset about the whole thing.

"She probably just thought it's not important. I'm sure you both haven't talked about every single friend you had over the time. Right?" Janet answered carefully avoiding to answer his initial question and at the same time trying to calm Daniel down.

"Well, no. But… I mean…. Damn, I don't know! I don't know," he answered sounding defeated. "I'm just worried about Sam, you know? She never mentioned anyone and suddenly she's off to Denver. Not that she can't look after herself but with all what happened recently and her shoulder… I'm just concerned. That whole Denver thing just isn't like her. It's… I don't know…"

So Sam told him about Denver in general but obviously neither about her brother nor her little daughter, not that Janet had ever met them but at least she knew they existed and the story behind her secrecy. She could also understand why Sam never told anyone else about this part of her private life but … realising Daniel was waiting for an answer once again she tried to reassure him.

"Look Daniel, I know you are worried about Sam but we both know she can very well look after herself. And I know for a fact that she went there a couple of times before and appeared to have had a good time too. So there's really no need to worry, okay?"

"But why didn't she say anything before? This whole thing just feels so, I don't know, wrong!" Daniel replied still agitated.

"Daniel, do you trust Sam?"

"Of course! I trust her with my life. You know that!"

"Then why don't you trust her judgement concerning her friends? I'm sure she'll talk about them eventually. It probably just never came up," Janet said still trying to calm Daniel down.

"Are you sure?" Daniel still wasn't completely convinced.

"Yes, absolutely. Just trust her, okay?"

"Well, if you're really sure…"

"Yes I am. Now why don't you go back to the translations I'm sure you brought home with you? Just try to remember to relax somewhat too, okay? After all you're supposed to have the weekend off!" Janet scolded good natured.

Daniel had at least the decency to blush although Janet couldn't see that. Being finally more or less sure Sam was going to be okay his mind already wandered back to the unfinished translations lying around his living room. He absently thanked Janet, said goodbye and went back to his translations.

Putting the phone down Janet couldn't help but shake her head grinning. She was pretty sure that now after his concerns about Sam being more or less gone Daniel was already completely involved in his translations again. If he was lucky he might remember to eat and sleep at some point over the weekend but most of the time he'd be stuck in his own little world. Maybe she should give him a call tomorrow night to make sure he was indeed getting something to eat. Come to think about it, before checking on Daniel she just might call Sam to see how she's doing too. She was her patient after all! Right?

_

* * *

So, what do you think? Please push the nice little button below to review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Slowly opening her eyes the next morning Sam looked directly into a pair of big blue ones. Blue eyes that could've been hers but belonged to her daughter. Funnily enough her daughter neither looked like her biological mom or dad but like a younger – and of course female – version of her uncle Jake and the granddad she never met, yet. But her eyes, her eyes were exactly like her mother's. Together with the short and slightly curled dark-brown hair framing her face she looked as innocent as they come and not at all like the mischievous little girl she usually was.

Smiling at her daughter Sam reached over to carefully gather Caity in a quick hug. Mmh, Caity still had this wonderful smell of sleep around her Sam loved so much cause it meant she was able to spent precious time with her daughter. Ever since she was a baby Caity slept with Sam whenever they spent the night in the same house, both trying to squeeze as much cuddling as possible in the short time they spent together. As soon as Sam released her Caity rolled to her side, once again propping herself up on her elbow and smiling at Sam.

"Morning mommy," Caity said giggling, "Sleep well?"

"Mhm… still am," Sam replied sounding like she was half-asleep already.

"No! Wake up!" Caity whined, "We've got to see all the animals in the zoo, remember?"

"Hm... later," Sam mumbled.

"Mommy! You have to get up now!" Caity said and as Sam didn't even move as much as her pinkie, Caity started to tickle her to make her point.

It only took a few short minutes before Sam couldn't pretend to be asleep anymore. Laughing she carefully turned on her back, grabbing Caity with her good arm and taking her down with her. Content to snuggle as close as possible to her mommy Caity stayed quiet. For a short couple of minutes that is.

"Mommy, don't make me tickling you again," Caity said mischievously. Not that she would mind doing just that, not at all. But today she was really looking forward to the zoo so the tickling could wait. And although her mommy hadn't said anything Caity knew her mommy's shoulder was still hurting her so it had to be careful tickling which wasn't half as much fun as the whole thing.

Sighing, Sam slowly got up taking Caity with her.

"Oh right, the zoo. But if you don't want them to mistake you for one of their animals you have to have a shower first!" Sam said while wrinkling up her nose as if Caity was smelling really bad. Whilst Caity still look indignantly at her Sam tucked her daughter under her good arm carrying the laughing girl to the bathroom.

xoxoxoxoxo

The day was filled with a lot of laughing for both Sam and Caity. They spent all the time at the zoo watching the various animals with Caity asking a million questions about them. Well, she was an almost seven-year old bright girl and asking questions was part of the job description. Right?

Funnily enough Caity was most intrigued with those animals living in the cold like polar bears and the arctic wolf which unfortunately reminded Sam of her little adventure in Antarctica a couple of years back. Though she was well aware that those animals weren't exactly living there but way up north they stilled lived in the cold! And she almost didn't live to see her daughter again… . Hugging Caity tightly as those thoughts crossed her mind she managed to bury them once again and ushered Caity to the lions. Lions were good. The lived in desert like areas. Deserts are nice. Nice and warm. Uh oh ... never mind. Luckily Caity was so excited about everything she saw that soon enough Sam was easily caught up in her daughters excitement once again, therefore easily forgetting all the not-so-nice memories.

"Mommy, mommy! Can we go back to watch the polar bears some more, please?" Caity asked once they had seen more or less everything, basically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Sorry, but Uncle Jake is going to pick us up in a couple of minutes. We're having a barbecue, remember?" Sam answered.

"Oh," was the answer from the disappointed girl. She really _really_ loved those white, cuddly looking bears after all!

Seeing her daughter so disappointed Sam slightly changed direction so they would pass one of those souvenir shops on their way out. She just hoped they also had some sort of polar bear souvenir.

"Why don't you have a quick look around and pick something you like?" Sam asked her still somewhat sad daughter while already scanning the shop and subtly ushering her daughter to the stuffed animal area where she could barely see some white animals too.

"M'kay," Caity mumbled while half-heartedly walking around. It took some moments for her to register where exactly her mommy stopped her but once she looked around she let out a delighted squeal when she discovered the fluffy little polar bear.

"Mommy, mommy look! Can I have one of those, please?" she asked excitedly.

Sam couldn't help but grin at her daughter antics. Yes, the souvenir shop was definitely a good idea! And she had to admit the little polar bear was cute! Quickly paying for the soft toy Sam ushered Caity out the shop towards the exit, only a couple of minutes late.

"Uncle Jake, uncle Jake!" Caity screamed delighted once she discovered him waiting outside, "Look what I've got!" and with that she jumped into his outstretched arms, waving her new toy in front of his face.

"Hm, but don't you think they forgot something? I mean this one is awfully white for a black bear," Jake answered seriously.

"D'oh! It's a polar bear, silly. They're supposed to be white!" Caity answered, shaking her head at Jake for not knowing about polar bears.

"Oops. How could I have not recognised it!" he answered grinning, kissing Caity on the head that rested on his shoulder. The day full of excitement finally caught up with her and she closed her eyes sleepily. When she was finally safely strapped into her car-seat she was already fast asleep.

"Tired?" Jake asked concerned once they were driving to his home.

Sam was about to answer automatically 'I'm fine' when she remembered who she was talking to. "Maybe a bit. But it's a good form of tired," she answered truthfully, smiling at him.

"Good, so I take it you had fun?"

Nodding her smile got even bigger before she sighed and moved around a bit trying to get more comfortable. Her shoulder was troubling her a bit but it was well worth the day she just spent with her daughter.

"Sam? Sam, we're here," Jake said just a minute later, or so she thought. Her confusion clearly visible he chuckled saying, "Looks like Caity isn't the only one who had an exciting day at the zoo, huh?"

After blinking a couple of times Sam looked out the window and saw the 2-storey house his brother was living in. On the front lawn was an assortment of bicycles, skates, helmets and lots of other things indicating the presence of several children. The garage was open and Sam saw her sister-in-laws car and some more toys and as soon as she opened the car door she could also hear the laughter coming from behind the house. Meanwhile Jake had removed Caity from her car-seat and was now nestled safely against his shoulder, her new soft toy tucked securely under her arm. Blinking slowly she smiled sleepily at her mom before closing her eyes once more.

As soon as Jake opened his front door he was attacked by two about 3-year old girls with long curly black hair and chocolate-brown eyes.

"Daddy, daddy! Up!" both said in unison, each holding onto one of his legs. Grinning Sam motioned for him to hand the still sleepy Caity over. Considering his sister for a long moment he did just that, helping to adjust Caity so Sam had her safely in her good arm.

Having both kids securely in his arms he followed Sam out back. Spotting his wife Jocelyn on the lawn he went over for a quick kiss.

"Hi, I hope those two little troublemakers you insist on calling Lena and Maia behaved today?" he asked smiling.

"Yeah!" came the instant reply from his girls and as if to confirm their statement the both gave their daddy a big sloppy kiss on the cheek, smiling sweetly up at him.

Shaking her head, Jocelyn only smiled and gave Jake another kiss. "Well, most of the time anyway. Now, why don't you get changed and get the barbecue ready? By the time it's finished your kids are probably starved already so you better start sooner than later!"

"_My_ kids?" he asked indignantly, grinning at his two daughters as if asking what had suddenly gotten into their mom. Sure enough, both started giggling.

"Daddy funny!" Lena exclaimed while Maia was happy enough to continue giggling.

"Hey dad! Need some help with my lovely sisters?" his 15-year old son Keenan asked grinning. Funnily enough as much as Caity looked like her uncle, Keenan looked a lot like his aunt. Though his blond hair was longer and in a ponytail and his eyes were slightly darker than Sam's.

"Nah, thanks. I've got everything under control. But how about helping me with the barbecue so the food is ready when those two decide it's time to starve?"

"Sure thing. I've already cleaned the grill, so we can start right away," Keenan replied good naturedly.

Nodding thankfully, Jake let the two now squirming little girls down and looked for his other son. 12-year old Lucas just came out of the house, carrying a tray with some drinks over to where Sam was sitting with Caity in an oversized rocking chair. Though Caity was awake now she was still sitting on Sam's lap, snuggling close to her chest in what was one of their favourite positions ever since Caity was born.

As soon as Sam thanked Lucas for the drinks the twins also came up to Sam, Maia with a book in her hand. They climbed up the chair and carefully settled themselves to either side of Sam and Caity, looking hopefully up at their beloved auntie. Smiling Sam took the book out of Maia's hand, adjusted Caity a bit and started reading to them.

Jake had to smile at that picture. Whenever Sam came to visit she had to read to Lena and Maia. Although the twins were quite the trouble-makers with sheer endless amounts of energy, they also loved to listen to their aunt reading to them. And he could tell Sam loved those rare moments too.

Watching his two sons getting the barbecue ready he quickly went into the house to get changed. Yep, this weekend was a good one. He had all the people around him he cared most about and Sam looked truly happy. After all she's been through with her own little family, he knew she lived for those happy moments. And although she couldn't tell him what she was doing at her job, he has seen all the injuries – both physical and psychical – whenever she came to visit. Still, she seemed to love what she was doing and whatever injuries she may have received, spending time with Caity always made the pain go away. He knew as long as he could easily draw that special bright smile from her, she was going to be okay eventually.

Kissing his wife on the way out once again, he made his way over to his sons at the barbecue. Starting the fire he threw a quick look at Sam who was still reading to his girls spotting a big smile on her face. Yes, this was a very good weekend indeed.

* * *

_A/N This was the last chapter in Denver, in the next one Sam is coming back to Colorado. I hope you're still with me as for some strange reason looks accusingly at muse it took longer to meet everyone in Denver than I ever imagined. The story should get more interesting now… cause we all know SG-1 is going to meet Sam's family at some point soon._

_Please don't forget to tell me what you think! Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I have nothing to do with this chapter, it's all the muse's fault! I never wanted to write this! Honestly!

xoxoxoxoxo

Chapter 5 

First Saturday night and then Sunday came and went in a blur for Sam. They stayed quite late at her brother's on Saturday, took a cab home and then spent a very lazy Sunday at home. Well, lazy apart from the 2 hours at the play ground to let Caity burn off some of her energy. Lunchtime came and went and suddenly Sam heard a car on the driveway. Looking at her watch she realised it was already close to 5 p.m. and therefore almost time to leave.

"Mommy, why did you stop reading?" Caity asked from the position on her lap.

Sam didn't need to answer as the front door opened that moment and Susan and Aaron came into the house. Seeing her parents, Caity turned to her mommy and seeing her smiling encouragingly at her she jumped off her lap, running straight into Aaron's arms. Picking her up easily he swirled her around and after giving her a kiss handed her over to Susan.

"Mom, dad! Did you have fun? I and Mommy went to the zoo and there were lots and lots of animals and polar bears! They are so sweet!" Caity said excitedly without even taking a breath. "You know polar bears, right? If not I can show you," she added thoughtfully remembering how her uncle Jake had mistaken her polar bear for a funny looking black bear. Without waiting for an answer she squirmed to be let down and as soon as her feet hit the ground she turned and run to catch her new soft toy. Better safe than sorry, right?

Shaking her head at Caity's antics Sam stepped closer to greet the other two. Seeing the look they gave each other Sam laughed.

"I take it your weekend was a full success? Hmm, considering the dark circles around your eyes you didn't seemed to have gotten a lot of sleep. I wonder why?" She thought out loud, grinning mischievously.

Interesting enough Aaron was the one blushing vigorously while Susan just grinned at Sam. Luckily, at least for Aaron, Caity choose that moment to come back, her new polar bear in tow.

"Isn't he sweet?" she proudly asked both her parents.

After much admiring the new soft toy and lots of talking on Caity's side, who was once again sitting on Sam's lap, the time of Sam's departure finally arrived. While Aaron and Susan went outside to bring Sam's bag to their car and give both Caity and Sam some time alone, Sam had once again to say goodbye to her daughter.

"Come here," she said to Caity who stood forlornly next to 'their' comfy chair. Caity hesitantly moved to her mommy, cause Sam wouldn't leave without saying proper goodbye and if Caity took longer to get to her, her mommy would have to stay longer, right? Finally throwing her arms around the neck of her kneeling mommy, she led her tears fall freely.

"Shh, Caity. It's okay. I'll call as soon as I can, okay?" Sam said trying to stop her own tears from falling.

"Can't… can't you… stay longer?" Caity finally managed to say with hiccups interrupting her frequently. That was enough to let Sam's tears finally fall.

Hugging her daughter even tighter, she said "You know I'd love to stay longer, but I've get back to work and I just can't take you with me. You know I love you very much, right?"

Nodding, Caity gave her a kiss. "I love you too, mommy. I'll miss you!"

"Miss you more. Be nice to your mom and dad, okay? Cause they too love you very much," Sam finally said, slowly standing up with Caity still hugging her tightly.

Once outside she kissed Caity one final time, giving her to Susan. Caity waved as long as she could still see the car bringing her mommy to the bus station. She clung tightly to Susan crying silently, while Susan softly spoke to her trying to comfort her.

Meanwhile in the car Aaron finally broke the silence, "It's getting harder every time, huh?"

"Yeah, but this is the best and safest life I can give Caity. Everything else wouldn't be fair on anyone. Specially not on Caity. You two are great parents to her, you know?" Sam finally answered, brushing the tears from her face.

"Thanks," Aaron answered sincerely. "We truly love her. We are family, Caity, you, Susan and I. And we never forget to point that out to Caity."

"I know, thanks." Sam answered. The rest of the drive to the bus station was spent in silence.

"Don't forget to call once you're back home," Aaron said, giving Sam a final hug. "Take care of yourself. Okay?"

"Yes mom! I swear, at times you can be even worse than Jake! Now go back to your family and don't forget to give Caity a kiss from me," Sam answered laughing before getting into the bus to Colorado Springs.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam had called Janet from the bus asking for a ride home, so when she finally embarked in Colorado Springs she was surprised to see Daniel waiting for her. Mentally rolling her eyes she went over to see if he still was in 'overprotection mode'.

"Wow, you changed quite a lot since last time I saw you! You know, kinda less muscular, shorter, more feminine … Janet!" Sam said smirking at Daniel who was still engrossed in a book he brought with him.

"What?" he all but squeaked.

Hm, maybe she should scratch the more feminine part Sam thought, laughing at the ridiculous look on Daniel's face.

"Uhm, Janet wanted to help Cassie with some homework so I offered to get you instead," he finally answered, still spotting a bright red face. "Wow! You look great, what did you do and can I have a bottle of it?" he added after recovering a bit. After all Sam _did_ look rather rested and happy, her eyes sparkling with joy – the complete opposite to Friday when he left her at the bus station.

"Well, I didn't do much. Relaxed, went to the zoo, relaxed, read something non-scientific – the usual stuff." Sam answered truthfully. She might not mention with whom she did all of the above but technically she wasn't lying either.

"The zoo, huh?" he asked while leading her to where his car was parked. "So, how are those friends of yours?" he added, clearly wanting to know more.

"Fine. You'd like them, especially as they wouldn't let me do anything strenuous. You'd be surprised at how resourceful they can be in that respect! So how was your weekend?" Sam replied clearly indicating that particular subject was over for her.

"Oh fine. The usual you know. A bit of translating here, a bit of translating there and suddenly it was Sunday," he replied a bit miffed.

Sighing Sam looked over to Daniel who was concentrating on driving, or so it seemed. She knew he was hurt that she didn't want to talk about Denver, however, she also knew that she finally was going to do just this. Only right now she simply wasn't ready to do this. There were just too many questions she couldn't or didn't want to answer. After all, hope died last – or so they say. And in her heart she wasn't ready to abandon hope of finding what she lost, whereas telling her friends would mean some sort of closure, accepting something her mind knew to be most probable while her heart wasn't ready to accept it. And never would be. So no matter how much it might hurt Daniel, she wasn't going to say anything.

"Daniel, I'm sorry but now just isn't the time to talk about this. I promise I'll tell you everything once the time is right, but for now you have to trust me that I know what I'm doing. And you said yourself I'm looking great, didn't you? So please just trust me, okay?" Sam finally said almost pleadingly.

"I'm sorry, and you know I trust you with my life. Just don't forget you can tell me anything, okay?" he said after several minutes. "So, _did_ you bring a bottle of whatever helped you to relax that much?" Daniel added smiling at Sam.

"Uhm … no. But whenever I might go back I try to remember to bring something back for you," she answered, relieved that Daniel was okay with it. For now anyway.

Sam was surprised when Daniel stopped in front of a grocery store but was grateful once she remembered her empty kitchen. Grinning at her, Daniel got out of the car, came around to her door and gallantly opened it for her, making the perfect bow. However, Sam was the one laughing as Daniel started to grab groceries that were obviously for himself. Apparently she wasn't the only one with an empty kitchen!

Once they reached Sam's house Daniel helped carrying her things inside and only after he was sure she had everything she needed he said his goodbye, promising to pick her up for work the next morning. Grateful that things with Daniel were back to normal Sam made a light dinner and called the Carter's and his brother. So to end an almost perfect weekend Sam took a long bubbly bath before going to bed with both a romantic novel and a glass of whine. The perfect ending for an almost perfect weekend.

A/N 2: I know I said we were done with Denver but my muse apparently was not. Sorry about that, but the next chapter should be out by the beginning of next week. At least we _are_ in Colorado Springs now :)…

Thanks for those who reviewed, though I wouldn't mind a couple of more comments. Just to know if this is complete rubbish and you accidentally ended up here or if you actually like it. Anyway, updates don't depend on reviews cause I don't like unfinished stories and you never know, maybe in… like forever… someone stumbles over this little piece of writing and actually likes it and wants to know how it ends. I wouldn't want to disappoint this poor little soul after all :)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next morning Sam woke early, recounting the events of the weekend. She really enjoyed the time with her daughter, something she hardly did often enough. Frowning as she remembered the conversations she had with Daniel she knew she couldn't hold back that little detail of her life for much longer. Her friends probably would be pissed enough that she hadn't trust them enough to spill the beans earlier, but the Colonel and probably Teal'c too would understand her. Daniel, well that was a completely different matter. Oh well, she could worry about that later, now was definitely the time for a first cup of coffee and knowing Daniel she better made some more.

Luckily Daniel seemed to have dropped his curiousness about Denver, for now anyway. So they shared a very pleasant drive to Cheyenne Mountain.

They just left the elevator at level 21, Sam was due for an appointment with Dr. Fraiser and Daniel just _had_ to make sure she actually went there, when their comfortable silence was interrupted by one very good humoured Colonel and an as usual seemingly stoic Teal'c.

"Hey kids," Jack O'Neill yelled while jogging up to them, "So what have you been up to? I hope for your own sake you didn't sneak back to the SGC over the weekend," he added only half-jokingly, looking pointedly at both of them.

"Well Sir, as I said before, I had no intentions of working this weekend so I didn't," Sam answered bluntly, barely avoiding to raise an eyebrow for emphasis. "Daniel however… " she added grinning evilly at her friend.

Sure enough Daniel blushed quite nicely, or so Sam thought, before shrugging his shoulders. After all it was an open secret that he loved his work and that once something caught his attention he easily forgot unimportant things like food, sleep or that he actually had some time off.

Shaking his head at his friend Jack took a closer look at Sam … and blinked a couple of times. This time Sam _did_ raise her eyebrow, amused.

"Wow, you look great!" Jack finally said surprised, "the Doc must have some new pain meds or something!"

"Jeez, thanks Colonel!"

"Okay, that came out wrong in so many ways," Jack admitted sheepishly.

"I believe what O'Neill wanted to say is that you look very well rested and refreshed despite the injury you received," Teal'c solemnly replied. "I believe he is correct in his observations. You must have enjoyed your weekend greatly."

"Thanks, Teal'c. Actually I visited with some old friends who wouldn't allow me to do anything but rest." Sam answered smiling at him.

"Friends, huh?" Jack asked. "Just make sure to introduce them to us at some point. Cause you apparently listen to them when it comes to resting and the like. Ah, scratch that. I like to have the names and phone numbers right now," he added grinning.

"Uh huh, just so you can ask them how they made me rest. Right," Sam answered. She could tell he was more than just curious, but would trust her judgement. For now anyways.

"So, did you catch any fish," she finally asked to change the topic. Her strategy obviously worked as all eyes turned to the Colonel.

"O'Neill, why are you fishing when there are obviously no fish in your lake." Teal'c asked confused as always when it came to Jack and fishing.

"So?" Jack said shrugging his shoulders, "How often do I have to tell all of you it's not about catching any actual fish but about the act of fishing?"

"Until we are tired of teasing you?" Daniel replied, happy to see Jack on the receiving end of their little jokes.

"Well, thanks Spacemonkey," Jack replied. "Why don't you go play with some of your rocks?"

"Arti… never mind," Daniel sighed. "I better go back to work. General Hammond called this morning, SG-12 brought some apparently interesting looking artefacts with them and he wants me to have a look at the engravings."

"I have to depart as well as new recruits start with there self-defense class today. It is good to see you well rested, Major Carter." Teal'c said tilting his head slightly before turning and leaving Sam and Jack alone in front of the infirmary.

"Yeah well, Teal'c is right you know. It's good to see you looking … well … like you do." Jack said seriously before adding on a lighter note "I better go too before the Doc finds various weird reasons to use some of her needles on me!"

Smiling, Sam watched his retreating form before she turned to enter the infirmary where her friend was already waiting for some details of her weekend. And to check her shoulder of course!

The next couple of weeks came and went without much happening. Sam's shoulder was healing nicely and it didn't take long for her to be declared fit for active duty once again. Their first mission back was simple; go through the gate, check out some ruins and gather other samples for the scientists to play with, come back. No fancy technology lying around, no signs of recent Goa'uld activity or of any natives for that matter. Jack didn't even have to remind Daniel to wander off as apart from the few ruins close to the Stargate there was nowhere to wander off to. So everyone was in a pretty good mood when the weekend finally arrived.

Little did they know what the weekend and the next few weeks would bring… .

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam was feeling good. Last night she had chatted over an hour with Caity before her daughter left for a little weekend trip with her parents. Now she just finished her shower after some nice workout in her local fitness club. Once she was home she wanted to use her free time for some necessary cleaning. She knew though they hadn't made an actual appointment Janet wouldn't mind her coming over to visit Cassie for one or more rounds of chess. And if she happened to stay for dinner and some wine and a movie – or chick flick as the guys would probably say – with Janet and Cassie, well that was fine with her too! Yep, today really felt like an I'm-not-even-going-to-think-of-work day!

Unfortunately the memo about her decisions must have been lost somewhere because as soon as she left the fitness club an unmarked van started to follow her and before she could enter her car at the back of the club she was grabbed by three masked man. Although she fought hard she didn't manage to throw them off before she was thrown into the van and some sort of sedative-soaked cloth put over her mouth, leaving her unconscious for the time being.

The next thing she remembered was waking up disoriented, her head pounding and finding herself being restrained on a hospital bed. Panicking she tried to free herself but only managed to draw attention to her and being sedated once again.

The next time she woke she didn't panic. She had learned from her mistake, she stayed quiet and kept her eyes closed. She had to find a way to get the hell out of here. To get back to Caity. To her brother. To her team. She couldn't think of anything useful before she heard them coming back, inserting some more drugs into her iv-line.

This time she woke to the sensation of being moved – without any restrains on her! After taking the luxury of thinking of her daughter for a couple of seconds, she waited for a moment of carelessness from her capturers. And didn't have to wait for long. Fools! They left her alone to talk about some test results but she didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead she willed her body to get off the gurney and get moving. Unfortunately her body was a different matter and not reacting as she wanted him to. Stupid drugs! Feeling her legs giving out under her she saw the tray with surgical instruments close by. Taking it down with her while she fell she managed to hide a scalpel before she was once more tied to the bed. At least now she had a weapon. Now she had a goal.

It took her several trials to cut through the ties. By now she had lost all sense of time but figured that she was captured a couple of days ago. Although she hoped Monday hasn't gone by yet – Caity was supposed to call and tell everything about her weekend adventure – she feared it was already later in the week. But now that she was free, from the restrains at least, she hopefully could get out of her. Learning from her earlier mistake she waited till she was sure her legs would carry her without trouble, before actually leaving her bed. For some unknown reason she was in some sort of shoes but was far from complaining about it.

She almost made it. She got herself a gun after overpowering one of the guards but soon found herself in front of a locked exit. Meeting the man behind everything. Damn. Her capturer. Damn. She had been so close to freedom!

This time they didn't sedate her but used handcuffs to tie her to the bedrail. But there were no new drugs. That was good, right? Wrong. It didn't take the so-called doctors long to come back, a new sort of determination in their eyes. This time there weren't trying any new drugs on her. This time they were going to kill her. But how could that be? Caity hasn't told her about her weekend yet! Her team-mates didn't even know about Caity yet! So how come they were going to kill her! That was not right! So Sam did her best to fight them off, but with her hands bound she didn't stand a chance against them. So she was going to die. Now. Or maybe she got lucky and they didn't get the right dose. Maybe she could use that and try to escape once again.

Maybe… Colonel O'Neill and Harry Mayborne burst into the room, weapons drawn? Okay, she could live with that!

Still shocked from her latest near-death experience, she followed Colonel O'Neill to hunt for the missing Goa'uld, allowing a single tear to escape her eyes before she went into soldier-mode. Though she still felt weak from god knows what drugs she had running through her system, she just _had_ to go with him. To prove herself she was back in control. To prove she was still alive. To prove everything was going to be alright.

Then they had split up to cover a bigger area which ended in Colonel O'Neill being shot. The Goa'uld was gone, but she couldn't have cared less. All she wanted to do now was to go home. To hear Caity's voice. To stop thinking what had almost happened. To stop thinking 'what if'.

On the way first to the hospital and later back to Colorado she learned she was in Seattle. She learned it was Saturday. Once again. She was missing for a whole week! At least Caity knew that she often travelled on short notice without being able to contact her. God, she really needed to hear Caity's voice or better cuddle with her for hours. Just like she had needed to see her after Jolinar. Cuddling her for hours to make the pain go away. Or at least listen to her after all those other times when things had gone terribly wrong. After all, Caity was her life-line to something normal in her otherwise more than unusual life. And right now she was completely out of balance and in desperate need for that life-line.

xoxoxoxoxo

They arrived back at the SGC late Saturday night and both Sam and Colonel O'Neill were immediately put under Dr. Fraiser's care. Not that Colonel O'Neill could complain about it, he was still out cold after all. Sam was another matter. She had seen enough of hospitals and the like during the last week and as far as she was concerned she couldn't get out of here soon enough. Luckily Dr. Fraiser was also one of her best friends so she understood Sam completely. So after she took unbelievable amounts of blood from Sam she allowed her to leave for her on-base quarters. That was as long as someone stayed with her. Just to be on the safe side of course.

So while Teal'c stayed in the infirmary to watch over the sleeping form of Colonel O'Neill, Daniel went with Sam to her quarters.

"You okay?" he asked concerned, once they entered her room and Sam stood forlornly in the middle of it.

"Yeah sure," she snorted after several moments. Shaking herself out of her reverie she fell onto the bed, not bothering with her clothes. Well, it seemed like there were still a lot of crazy things running through her system making her dizzy and tired. And now that all the adrenaline was used up she felt every single muscle in her body.

"Sorry, stupid question." Looking around the small room Daniel spotted the single chair and went over to sit down. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

Sure. She'd just close her eyes, forget everything that happened and would sleep happily ever after. Who was she kidding? There was no way she was going to sleep now after what happened! Never mind how tired she really was, her thoughts kept running in circles of 'what ifs'.

"Uhm, Daniel?" she asked hesitantly after several minutes of silence.

"Sam? Do you need something? Should I call Janet?" he answered concerned. After all she didn't sound like her usual confident self. Well, that wasn't too surprising considering what had happened lately and how close she was to actually being murdered. What was worse was that she usually didn't show this vulnerable side too often. Well, not when Jack or Teal'c were around anyway. So it had to be bad.

"No! No, I don't need anything. It's just…," Sam said clearly frustrated with herself.

Looking closely Daniel could see the fight going on in her head. On the one side Sam wanted to be the strong soldier. The soldier that could cope with everything and didn't allow herself any sign of helplessness. But there also was the other part, the one that wanted to be … vulnerable. The one that was allowed to be weak, allowed to be afraid. The one still shaking with fear in the aftermath of last week.

And he had seen it before after the Entity had taken her over and left her in the computer mainframe. Once she awoke in the infirmary she'd only go to sleep if someone was close by, touching her. Back then they had taken turns to stay with her, touch her, talk with her. Contact was what she needed then.

Mentally slapping himself he suddenly realised why Janet had insisted on someone going with Sam. Though she might not have been trapped in the computer mainframe, Sam had been alone. Trapped in a drug-induced haze, tied to her bed. Knowing what to do he got up and went over to the bed.

"It's okay, Sam. Everything is going to be okay," he whispered softly, sitting down while stroking her cheek.

His heart went out to her after she looked up to him, desperation and unshed tears clearly in her eyes. So he quickly got rid of his shoes and laid down beside Sam, covering them both up. It took only a second until Sam moved close to him, snuggling up to his chest. Feeling his arms going around her and his heart beating below her cheek she finally managed to relax enough to fall into a fitful sleep.

xoxoxoxoxo

Waking to the sensation of being both safe and warm Sam slowly opened her eyes … and remembered everything that happened.

"Easy Sam, you're safe," Daniel whispered, stroking her back as soon as he felt her go tense. "You're back at the SGC, remember?"

Visibly relaxing, Sam slowly nodded her head. Yeah, she remembered. Caity! She had promised to call her on Monday and now it was already the next Sunday! She had to go home! But first things first.

"Yeah," she replied, slowly sitting up. "Thanks for last night," she added blushing slightly, remembering how they ended up in the position they were in now.

"Hey, you're welcome. Everyone needs some reassurance now and then," Daniel replied smiling, happy to see the desperation gone from her eyes. "How about we meet for breakfast before our debriefing?" he added before getting ready to leave.

"Sure, see you in 20 minutes." she answered, really smiling for the first time in days.

After the debriefing she went back to the infirmary. Not that she was looking forward to it but Janet had clearly ordered her to come back before she was allowed to leave the base. As it turned out, there were indeed lots of different drugs running around her system but her body was already taking care of them. Also, Janet had to admit that Sam was looking much better now after a couple of hours peaceful sleep giving her no reason to keep her on base. So after telling her once again what to look out for and to call when she had any problems she let her go home, knowing how desperately Sam wanted to call her daughter. Knowing how much it would help Sam.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam quickly put the newly bought groceries away after Daniel had her brought home once again before going over to her phone. Seeing the light on the answering machine blinking franticly she pushed the button while getting something to drink.

"Hi Sam, it's Jake. Please call me back," was the first message. Followed by several others, one sounding more urgent than the next.

Her unopened diet-coke long forgotten she could only think one thing. Something happened. Caity. Oh my god, please don't let it be Caity!

Grabbing the phone she feverishly dialled the Carter's home in Denver. She let the phone ring. And ring. And ring. With every unanswered ring her heart sank lower. Something had happened. She could feel it. Caity. Not even realising she was crying, she dialled her brothers number.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Sam asked urgently as soon as she heard him on the phone, tears still streaming down her face.

"Sam, thank god! Where have you been? I was trying to reach you for the last couple of days and was going to call George Hammond if you wouldn't have called by tonight," Jake answered sounding both relieved that she called and anxious and afraid of what he had to tell her.

"I'm fine," she answered impatiently, "What the hell happened? Is Caity okay? Please tell me she's okay!" Sam all but screamed into the phone. "Please tell me she's fine," she added whispering almost inaudible.

"Yeah… yeah she's fine," Jake started carefully, "but there was an accident," he continued sounding sad. Far too sad for Sam's liking and her heart sank even lower.

_

* * *

__A/N: Okay that was it. I know I'm mean, but my muse is even meaner. Believe me, you don't know what else she wants to write but I do and am fighting hard to avoid the things she planned. Though I can't promise anything cause I haven't found the ultimate weapon against her, yet. Unfortunately my muse is not from around here and tends to use words I don't know so I have to look them up in my dictionary to understand what is supposed to be my own story! And the evil that she is she uses this as distraction to add a paragraph here, a paragraph there without me even noticing. ARGH! _

_Okay, sorry about that, but sometimes these Au-pair muses can be really _really_ exhausting! Anyway, so in case I can't fight her off be prepared for some rough times for Sam, but luckily there's always SG-1 and Sam's hidden family for her to fall back onto!_

_That said I hope you're still with me… Please don't forget to review and a huge thanks to those who reviewed so far!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Feeling her legs giving out under her Sam sat down on her couch. Hard.

"Susan and Aaron?" she all but whispered, both her body and voice shaking.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"What happened? Oh god, Caity! How is Caity? Why don't you say anything!" Sam replied almost hysterical.

"Calm down, Sammy. Calm down. Caity is hanging on, considering the circumstances that she just lost her parents," Jake tried to reassure his sister. "Right now she is sleeping. Finally. Jocelyn took the twins to the playground so they won't wake her…" he added.

"But what she really needs is me … " Sam replied whispering. "God, I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier! I'm so sorry."

"Hey, stop crying Sammy. Come on, it's not your fault. Okay? It's NOT your fault."

"But I should have been there. Caity is my daughter for crying out loud! She shouldn't have to live with someone else. I shouldn't have given her up, abandon her. God, it's all my fault!" Sam replied, quickly working herself into a rage.

"Sammy, Sam! Calm down!" Jake answered firmly. "You aren't helping anyone by getting totally worked up about something you couldn't have changed anyway. Okay? How often did we talk about your options? How often did we try to find another solution, huh? Sam, giving Caity to Susan and Aaron was the only way to keep her save and still be part of her life! Sam, you've always been a big part of Caity's life, you've always been there for her, always knowing what's going on even if you couldn't risk to see her for a couple of month! Hell, I'm sure you know much more about your daughter than a lot of other parents who are actually living with their kids! To be honest, giving the circumstances you managed to play a much bigger role in her life than I ever hoped for you to be able to. So stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over, okay?"

It took Sam a couple of minutes to work through everything Jake had just told her, but in the end she knew he was right in at least one point. She wouldn't be much help to her daughter when she got worked up about something she couldn't change now anyway. Her daughter needed her and staying home, blaming herself for all that went wrong, wouldn't get her any closer to Caity. No, right now she had to get a grip of herself and think about getting to Denver. Well, at first she should call General Hammond to get some time off. Then she should get herself to Denver as quickly as possible.

Glad to hear the wheels turning in Sam's head Jake waited patiently for her to work things through. Well, for 5 minutes anyway.

"Sam? You okay? You didn't fell asleep on me or something?" he asked tentatively.

"If you tell me that everything was just a bad dream I'm happy to admit falling asleep on you," she replied wryly. "Don't answer that one," she continued sighing. "You're right, me getting worked up about it doesn't help Caity now. I have to call General Hammond to get time off and then I'm on my way. Oh crap! I'm banned me from driving for a couple of days which means I've got the take the bus. That's stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Calm down Sam, just take the bus and call when you know your arrival time," Jake said mollifying, wondering silently what exactly _had_ kept her from receiving his calls earlier. Though he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Anyway, now he would have to watch even more carefully about her once she arrives in Denver.

" 'Kay. Watch out for Caity, please?"

"Sam, you know we all do," he tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, it's just… God, what have I done!" Sam said once more insecure of the decision she had to make 7 years ago.

"Sam! Will you stop blaming yourself!" Jake replied sternly.

"Sorry," Sam all but mumbled. "I'll better get going, huh?"

"Sam, I love you. So does Caity. No matter what." Jake answered before putting the phone down, giving her no chance to start blaming herself all over again.

Realising she hadn't even asked what happened she considered calling her brother again. But then she shrugged her shoulders, deciding that this had to wait until she got there. And the sooner she called General Hammond and started packing the sooner she could be on her way to Caity. Still feeling kinda wobbly on her legs Sam simply remained seated for the time being. Luckily she had more than enough leave accumulated so that getting time off shouldn't be a problem. Adding the recent events to that, General Hammond would sure understand the need for a vacation. Taking a couple of more minutes to compose herself - it wouldn't exactly be good to sound hysterically while calling a superior officers asking for leave - she finally called General Hammond's office.

Just as Sam anticipated, getting the next 2 weeks off wasn't too difficult, the General actually seemed glad she ask for some leave instead of being forced on taking it. Of course, he couldn't know that she didn't like taking time off that she couldn't spend with her daughter. For that matter, he didn't even know that she had a daughter. Well, that she had a child - yes. But that said child _wasn't _given up for adoption - no. Anyway, thinking about what the General might know or not know didn't help her to get faster to Caity. So pushing those thoughts aside Sam got up to start packing. And while she was at this she could also figure a way out to get to the bus station.

Just as she was about to enter her bedroom she heard someone knock on her front door. Groaning she turned around and went to open the door and whoever it was better have a damn good reason to disturb her!

Opening the door her expression changed from very, very annoyed to plain despair.

"Sam? What's going on?" Janet asked concerned. She was on her way home from her shift at the SGC and decided to make sure Sam had everything she needed and maybe invite her for dinner tonight. Cassie would be more than pleased and she could make sure Sam was indeed eating. What she didn't expect was finding Sam in a state of high emotional distress, especially as she seemed fine this morning and according to Daniel didn't have much trouble sleeping last night either. But what she saw in front of her was completely different.

Taking Sam by her arm she led her inside, gently pushing her to sit on the couch. Crouching down in front of her, she gently took Sam's hands in her own asking once again what happened. Not even realising the tears running down her face Sam told about the phone call with Jake. As soon as she mentioned the death of Susan and Aaron Janet sat next to her on the couch, comforting her friend as best as she could. Although Janet hadn't met Susan and Aaron Carter - or Caity and Jake for that matter - she knew how much they meant to Sam. Recapitulating all the times Sam came to her to talk about her daughter and her surrogate family she knew she would have liked Susan and Aaron too. Coming to a decision Janet gently whiped the tears from Sam's face.

"Why don't you pack some clothes and I drive you over? I'm sure Cassie wouldn't mind as she's probably still sleeping anyway," Janet asked gently.

"Yeah, I was just about to start packing when you came. Uhm, thanks for letting me go all teary on you …" Sam answered quietly, thankful for Janet's offer to drive her to the bus station.

"Hush. Remember when this whole Nirrtie mess with Cassie started? You were the one lending a shoulder then. Now it's simply my turn. And adding all the drugs still messing with your system I'd be worried if your reaction would have been any different after these bad news. Okay?"

Nodding, Sam turned around, heading for her bedroom once again. After cleaning herself up a bit she took her bag and went back to the living room.

"Okay, let's go. And don't worry about your plants, I'll take care of them." Janet said before leading Sam out to her car.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Uhm, Janet? That's not the way to the bus station," Sam asked surprised albeit a bit worried too. "If we don't hurry I'll miss the bus and it takes ages till the next leaves."

"Exactly. That's why I'm going to drive you to Denver." Janet stated matter of fact.

"But… Cassie? What about her? Wouldn't she be missing you? When was the last time you saw her?" Sam asked insecure.

"Sam, it's okay. Cassie will be fine on her own and she wanted to meet some friends anyway. I'm sure she wouldn't mind having the house all to herself for a couple of hours more."

"Thanks," Sam finally replied after several minutes of silence. To be honest, she was glad to avoid the bus as she was still feeling somewhat out of it. Well, according to Janet at least some of the feeling-completely-out-of-it thing could be attributed to the drug-mixture in her blood. Of course, this knowledge didn't make it any better but it helped nevertheless. She had to be there for her daughter after all and could only do so with her emotions under control.

During the whole drive Sam stared out of the window and therefore didn't see the occasional concerned glance from Janet. Although Janet knew Sam would be fine - medically speaking - in a matter of 2 or 3 days she was still concerned about her emotional state. Taking Caity in wasn't a question for Sam as long as the Carter's were still alive but now she would have to think about it. Sam once admitted to her that she deliberately avoided thinking _what if_, after it would have been relatively safe to take Caity in a couple of years ago. But the situation had changed. Knowing how much Sam really loved her daughter Janet knew of the hard times ahead, because she couldn't imagine Sam giving her daughter up once again. What made the whole situation more difficult was that almost no-one knew about Caity. Not SG-1, not General Hammond and not even General Carter. This was definitely going to be interesting.

The only thing Janet was certain about was the she'd stick to Sam no matter what. And that along the way Sam would be living with Caity, even if she hasn't realised it, yet.

_

* * *

A/N: I didn't think I'd manage an update this week cause I've been pretty busy with RL. Well, what can I say - all those last chapter's reviews helped a lot! So THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to push the little button down there! This weekend I'm out of town, so the next chapter might not be up until after the next weekend - though you might never know…_

_Just to make sure once again, this is definitely not going to be a Sam/Daniel story, Sam just needed a little reassurance after her ordeal and Jack - well, he wasn't available :)! _

_So, anyone else having trouble with their muse(s)? Like you know how your story is going, what is happening and when and then this sneaky muse comes along filling in blanks you never knew existed? I expected 9 to 10 chapters max… but with this muse you never know! I might have to go and get myself another one! Any suggestions from which country the most creative muses are coming from?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Pulling up in front of the address Sam had given her, Janet stopped the car, looking over at Sam. She seemed to be deep in thought, not even realising they had finally arrived.

"Hey," Janet said softly, "looks like we are there."

First looking somewhat confused at Janet, Sam finally turned to look out her window realising they were indeed in front of her brother's house. For all the urgency to get here she suddenly felt that she couldn't move, to afraid of what was ahead of her.

As if reading her mind, Janet gently stroke Sam's cheek to get her attention. "Sam, everything is going to be fine. Okay?"

Nodding, Sam took a deep albeit shaky breath before opening the car door and walking to the front door. Looking around she found that Jocelyn's car was still missing so she was probably still out with the twins. Only hesitating for a few seconds Sam nervously knocked on the front door, which was almost immediately opened by her brother. Taking only one look at her, he wordlessly opened his arms for his sister. Stepping into them, feeling them safely closing around her, Sam felt for the first time that _maybe_ everything was going to be alright.

As much as she loved the safe feeling in her brother's arms she had to know what happened, had to see Caity, had to be there for her. So stepping out of the embrace, but still maintaining contact, she looked questioningly at her brother.

Leading her to the couch he pointed to the baby phone on the couch table.

"That's for Caity. She is still sleeping, but we'll know as soon as she wakes up. Okay?" Jake started.

Nodding, Sam anxiously looked at her brother, finally asking what had happened to Susan and Aaron. Taking a deep breath, Jake started to recount the events of the last couple of days, while still holding Sam's hands in his.

"You know how much Aaron loved to surprise Susan with little things?" he asked Sam, who nodded in return. Yeah, Aaron never got tired to show Susan just how much he loved her. And he had the cutest ideas to do so too.

"Well, last Tuesday Caity was invited to a small sleep-over at her best friends – Anne Potter's – place. It was Anne's birthday and her parents finally gave in, letting her have the sleep-over during the week. The Potter's were also going to make sure that the kids wouldn't stay up too late and be taking them all to school the next morning. So Aaron planned one of his little candle light dinners, you know how much Susan loves them! Anyway, he told me that that wasn't the actual surprise but rather a little diversion from what he really had planned," Jake continued, smiling fondly at the memory of Aaron telling him of his plans.

"What he really wanted to do was a romantic breakfast while being on-board a hot-air balloon, driving into the sunrise. You know how Aaron was always planning everything to the point, always looking for the best to make his plans happen? This time wasn't any different, the company he chose had a really good reputation but what no-one could anticipate was the balloon-driver loosing consciousness while preparing for landing. According to an eye-witness he suddenly slumped over before he could make some height-adjustment to avoid a high-voltage power line. Susan and Aaron were looking out back so they didn't see it coming. They were dead instantly," he finished almost whispering, tears in his eyes.

Sam didn't know what to say. Or to think for that matter. How could something as beautiful as ballooning into the sunrise end so tragically? And how did they know Susan and Aaron didn't have to suffer after all? How could anyone be so sure about it?

Embracing his trembling sister once again, Jake quietly continued, answering her unasked questions.

"Sam, they were dead the moment they hit the power line. The autopsy confirmed that. As for the balloon driver, he apparently had a brain aneurysm that was never discovered and when it suddenly ruptured he lost his consciousness, which led to the accident. His family – he left a wife and three kids - , the balloon company, everyone is just as shocked as we are. I know it's hard to have no-one to blame for what happened, but in the end this one was an accident that couldn't have been avoided…. I'm sorry."

"Caity?" Sam managed to say after a couple of minutes of silence.

"The police called Jocelyn 2 hours after it happened. She called me but couldn't reach you, so we went to the police station and later went to get Caity after school ended. We tried to explain things to her, but she didn't want to listen. She spent the first night in Susan's and Aaron's bed, cuddling with Mr. Bunny and Fluffy. I stayed with her while Jocelyn went back home. She didn't say much when we drove over here the next morning and hasn't since. When we ask her how she's doing she says 'I'm fine'. The only ones she allows somewhat close to her are Lucas and Keenan and one of them is constantly with her. But what worries us the most is that she hasn't cried yet," he finished quietly.

He knew how much Sam was already blaming herself for not being here earlier, but it wouldn't help anyone if he'd lie to her now. Hopefully being together now would help both of them, especially as Sam wasn't exactly looking like the picture of health herself. Far from it, she looked more pale and, well, unhealthy than could be attributed to the situation. Adding her vanishing act to that, he knew something happened last week. And it was definitely nothing good, considering the by her long sleeves partly hidden bruises on her wrists he had discovered earlier.

While Sam was still trying to comprehend what exactly had happened last week, the baby phone came crackling to live.

"Hey, sleepy head…" they heard Lucas softly address his niece.

Taking one look at Sam he gestured to the stairs, smiling reassuringly.

"Go!"

Nodding, Sam got up and went upstairs, still feeling like she ended up in a bad movie, not knowing how and why.

xoxoxoxoxo

When Janet finally got to the front door after collecting Sam's stuff from the trunk she found her friend gone. Not knowing what else to do she entered the house, closed the door behind her, and followed the muffled voice to the entrance of what looked like the living room. Seeing Sam with her brother – or who she thought was her brother anyway – sitting on the couch, obviously deep in conversation she didn't know what to do. On the one side she really wanted to go home to get some much needed sleep, but on the other side she didn't want to leave without saying good-bye to Sam.

Seeing movement somewhat down the hallway she turned and went that way.

"Hi, uhm I'm Janet, a friend of Sam," she started to explain, showing Sam's bag to the teenager in front of her. A teenager that looked a lot like Sam, so it must be Keenan she thought to herself.

"You must be Keenan," she continued insecure. She wasn't exactly asked to enter the house after all.

"Yeah, I saw you pulling up the street. Uhm, why don't we go into the kitchen?" he answered, studying her critically.

Nodding, Janet followed him. The house was eerily quiet so she thought that Jake's wife – Jocelyn, if she remembered correctly – was still out with the twins.

"Just leave the bag by the door. Do you want some coffee?" he asked more friendly.

Well, she definitely _looked_ like she could do with some coffee. Deciding that if his aunt had told her about them, than she had to be a good friend of her. And he had also seen the concerned look Janet sent towards Sam when she had gotten out of the car.

"Thanks," Janet answered, not realising how tired she really was until she sat down. Looking around while Keenan started to make some fresh coffee, she took in the details that made the kitchen look alive.

"I'll be right back," Keenan said, startling Janet out of her considerations. Nodding, she put her arms on the table in front of her, holding her head up while she started to look around once more.

The soft murmur coming from the living room and the regular sounds from the coffee machine didn't exactly help to keep her awake now that the exhaustion of the last days finally caught up with her. She didn't even realise her head starting to drop on her arms and despite her efforts to stay awake, Janet was fast asleep within a short time.

So when Keenan came back a couple of minutes later he had to smile at the sight before him. He also decided that if someone as tired as Sam's friend obviously was, was nevertheless willing to help a friend in need, than this person was well worth his trust and friendship. So instead of waking her up, he kept a silent watch over her.

xoxoxoxoxo

Stopping just in front of the room Caity slept in whenever she spent the night here, Sam tried to calm herself once again before entering the room.

As soon as she opened the door she saw Caity sitting in the rocking chair that usually was on the porch, her 2 favourite soft toys – Mr. Bunny and Fluffy, the polar bear – sitting on either side of her. And it broke her heart. Not even seeing Lucas quietly leaving the room, closing the door behind him, Sam went over to her daughter, tears running freely down her cheeks.

"Mommy!" Caity all but cried out desperately, holding her arms up.

Picking her daughter up before settling herself down into the chair all what Sam could do was to repeat, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", over and over again.

Although she was holding Caity tightly to her chest, Caity was still trying to get closer to Sam, burying her face in the crook of Sam's neck. Rocking slightly, both held onto each other as if their life depended on it. And in that moment it was.

After several minutes of rocking Sam felt Caity finally giving in to the tears she'd already seen in her daughter's eyes when she entered the room. Cradling Caity's head close to her, Sam used her free hand to rub her daughters back reassuringly, while constantly whispering to her.

"It's going to be okay, Caity. Everything is going to be alright," Sam repeated again and again to not only reassure her daughter but also herself.

And being close to Caity, rocking her, helped her to finally believe in what she was saying.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile Jake was still sitting on the couch, tiredly rubbing his face when both of his sons entered the living room.

"Mom should be back soon," he said while gesturing for his sons to join him on the couch. "I just wanted to say how proud we are of you, how you're handling the whole situation, especially helping with Caity," he continued sincerely.

"Thanks dad," Keenan started. "Oh before I forget, Sam was driven here by a friend – Janet – and she is sitting in the kitchen. Well, she actually fell asleep on the kitchen counter."

"Janet?" Jake asked his son.

"Yes, oh, and she knew my name. So I suppose she must be pretty close to Aunt Sam."

Slapping his forehead, much to the delight of his kids, Jake finally remembered.

"Of course! She's Sam's best friend in Colorado Springs and one of the few people knowing the whole story behind Caity! So she's asleep?"

"Yeah, she actually looked dead on her feet when I found her and she fell asleep even before the coffee was ready," Keenan added nodding.

Sighing, Jake got up heading for the kitchen. Seeing his wife pulling up the driveway, he told his sons to go meet her and bring her up to date while he was going to look after Sam's friend.

Entering the kitchen he couldn't help but smile. Sleeping in what looked like a very uncomfortable position was a short, red haired woman whom he recognised from a photo Sam had shown him once as Janet. Looking even smaller than on the picture, she also looked pretty exhausted – even in her sleep. As there was no point in waking her up now, even if she had intended to drive right back, he carefully picked her up. He was going to make sure she got a couple of hours of sleep before letting her drive again. Sam couldn't afford to loose another friend to an accident.

Going upstairs he passed Caity's room, going into the next one. After carefully putting Janet down on the bed, he removed her shoes before covering her with a blanket. During all this she didn't even move, showing just how exhausted she must have been.

Quietly closing the door to the guest room he turned to check on the occupants of the next room. Carefully opening the door to Caity's room, he sighed relieved on what he was seeing. His sister and her daughter were sitting as close as humanly possible on the rocking chair, Caity finally being able to silently cry for her parents while Sam was there to comfort her. Silently walking over he picked up a blanket from the bed, carefully draping it over the precious occupants of the chair. Bending down to kiss first Caity and then Sam on the head, he whispered, "Everything will be fine," into his sisters ear. Nodding, Sam gave him a very watery smile before laying her head once more on Caity's.

Yes, they were going to be fine. Eventually.

_

* * *

A/N Sorry for the little delay, but my muse wasn't impressed at all with the cold I managed to catch last weekend! She was hiding from the resulting headaches so I really had no chance of updating any sooner. But apparently she is back to her annoying self, because even as I was sitting down to write this chapter I was sure to write about a tragic car accident with a drunk driver and the likes and look what I ended up writing! ARGH!_

_Anyway, please don't forget to review, telling me what you like, and what not. Once again thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, and a special thanks to Jennyvre Moss for her more details reviews – they are especially encouraging and helpful!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Wrong. Something felt really out of place once Janet started to be aware of her surroundings again. The last thing she remembered was sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting for a cup of coffee. And she was definitely not sitting there anymore. Far from it, she was comfortable and warm and obviously she was in a bed. She just couldn't remember how she got there. But she was sure it wasn't her bed. Or even her house. It smelled different. Actually, it smelled good and even her rumbling stomach seemed to agree with her. And then there was the giggling. Not that there was no giggling at her house, but it simply sounded different.

Hm, maybe she should just open her eyes? While her sleepy mind was still trying to decide whether she should indeed open her eyes or go back to sleep she heard the giggling again. This time it was really close, in fact it sounded like it was right next to her. Slowly opening her eyes she found herself looking into chocolate. Well, two pairs of with mischief sparkling chocolate brown eyes to be exact. The owners of said eyes were kneeling next to her bed, heads propped up on chubby little arms that rested on the bed. And they were definitely giggling.

"Uhm… hey," Janet said, still trying to wake up completely, which resulted in more giggling from the two little girls.

"Oookay..." Janet muttered, managing to get into a sitting position while trying to work out how she got here – where ever here was anyway. But before she could say anything else the door opened and both girls turned around.

"Ops!" both said in unison, grinning mischievously.

"Daddy, daddy! Auntie Janet awake," exclaimed the one closest to the door happily while the other one pointed at the now sitting Janet.

"Apparently," he replied while shaking his head at his little girls. "Sorry about those two. The little trouble-makers were supposed to get their brother."

Getting up from their place on the floor, each of the girls hugged one of their dad's leg before looking up with big innocent chocolate-brown eyes.

"Love you, daddy!" they said once more in unison, before letting go and running squealing out of the room.

"I swear, every single grey hair I might have is due to those two!" he said smiling.

"Sorry about them waking you. They just have way to much energy. Oh, I'm Jake and those two trouble-makers were Maia and Lena, though I guess you figured that out already," he continued sheepishly.

"Yeah. Hi," Janet replied, still trying to process everything that happened the last couple of minutes.

"You fell asleep in the kitchen. I brought you up here so you'd be more comfortable and get some real sleep." Jake explained, sensing Janet's question - which of course wasn't too difficult to do. "Well, until those two little devils decided to get a bit too curious anyway," he added smiling.

"Uhm, it's okay. Sorry I fell asleep on you. I mean you have more than enough to worry about as it is."

"Don't worry, it's no problem. Actually, I'm glad you fell asleep here instead of in your car. _That_ would have been bad."

"I guess you are right." Janet replied, smiling for the first time. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. So how about some coffee?" Jake asked. "And something to eat?" he added grinning when he heard her stomach rumble.

Blushing slightly at her misbehaved stomach, Janet bent down to put on her shoes. Glancing up at Jake who was waiting by the door she decided that he was indeed Sam's brother. Or better yet, Jacob Carter's son. There was no denying the close resemblance of those two, even if Jake still had all of his hair. The same dark hair she had just seen on the mischievous little twins. Sighing, she finally got up to follow Jake out of the room.

"Jake?" she asked somewhat hesitantly, "How is Sam doing, and Caity?"

Though she had yet to meet the little girl, she was really concerned about her well-being. Loosing ones parents wasn't easy on anyone – even if Caity still had Sam, she still lost the two people she spent her life with so far. Also, Janet remembered the day they met Cassie like it was yesterday and the nightmares that followed the girls traumatic experiences.

Sensing the true concern for his sister, Jake motioned for Janet to follow him, quietly moving to the next room and slowly pushing its door open. Sam and Caity were still snuggled close together in the rocking chair, the light blanket draped loosely around both of them. But in contrast to the last time Jake checked on them a couple of hours ago, both were now fast asleep. After making sure the blanket wasn't going to fall off anytime soon, both Jake and Janet quietly left the room.

"They look so at peace," Janet stated quietly, receiving an agreeing nod from Jake.

Despite the circumstances, Janet could hardly remember seeing Sam sleeping that peacefully. Okay, most of the time Janet saw her asleep was in her infirmary but still. Even knowing of Caity and the circumstances of her not living with Sam and even after seeing Sam interacting with Cassie, Janet hadn't fully understood Sam's feelings for Caity and the inner turmoil it must have caused her to basically leave her behind. But now, seeing both of them so close together, obviously drawing strength and reassurance from each other, Janet finally understood how big a sacrifice giving Caity up must have been for Sam.

"They draw strength from each other, always have been," Jake stated quietly, sensing Janet's train of thought.

"Yeah, I never really understood what she must have been going through. Well, I thought I did but now, after seeing them together like that, I realise that I didn't understand. Not completely anyway." Janet admitted quietly while following Jake downstairs.

"And yet you've been the best friend she could ever wish for." Jake replied seriously.

"Thanks," Janet said, blushing once more.

xoxoxoxoxo

After she had her coffee, she called Cassie to tell her she would be home later this afternoon. In the meantime Jocelyn – who Janet liked immediately – brought her some sandwiches and she also met the rest of the family. Well, technically she had already met Keenan, Maia and Lena but this time she was introduced properly and immediately accepted as Auntie Janet. Sam had apparently talked about her more than once. Not that Janet minded that but she was rather surprised to be accepted that unconditionally.

While Jocelyn went to take the twins down for a nap and Lucas and Keenan left to do their homework, Jake asked Janet if should would join him in the backyard. Nodding – after all Janet had suspected something like this anyway – she followed him outside where they could talk without any disruptions.

"So… " Jake started once they were outside. "What's wrong with Sam? I mean I know Susan's and Aaron's death is really hard on her, but that still doesn't explain the state she is in. I mean she lost weight, is more than pale and I've also noticed the bruises on her wrists. Adding that to the fact that I couldn't reach her for several days and that she is apparently banned from driving for the next few days I really want to – no, make that _need_ to know what is going on here!" he half pleaded, half demanded from Janet. "And please don't start with the whole 'It's classified'-crap!"

"I'm really sorry Jake, but it _is_ classified," Janet replied slowly.

Hearing that, Jake angrily stood up from the where he was sitting on the porch steps and started to walk around the lawn, obviously trying to get his temper under control. After a couple of minutes he came back, looking pleadingly at Janet.

"Please Janet, I need to know. I realise that Sam's work is highly classified and I never really asked her what she's doing. And don't tell me it's 'Deep space radar telemetry'! That's a stupid cover up and by no means explains all the injuries I've seen her with the last couple of years. Sometimes, when she thinks no-one is watching her, she has that look in her eyes as if the whole worlds problems rest on her shoulder. And believe me, this is nothing I like to see in my little sister's eyes. It breaks my heart. Please. I just don't know how to help her. Please, tell me something I could work with."

Looking up at Jake, Janet could see the helplessness in his eyes, the love and worry for his sister. Thinking about what she could do without actually breaking any rules she finally asked, "What would you have done if you couldn't reach Sam for another couple of days?"

"I was going to call George Hammond tonight," he replied puzzled. "Why?"

"Okay, but what if he didn't know where she was either?" Janet continued, this time more sure of herself.

"Why wouldn't he know that? He's her CO after all," Jake asked, still confused as of what Janet wanted from him. He could see that she was trying to help him, but he couldn't work out what she wanted to hear from him.

"Jake, please. What would you do if you couldn't reach Sam and her CO wouldn't know anything either?"

"Well, I guess I'd have called you. Sam gave me your phone number a while ago," he continued, wheels turning in his head. "But I guess that's not what you want to hear."

Watching Janet's encouraging nod, he continued, "I guess my next step would be to call the hospitals in Colorado Springs, asking if they have any unidentified traffic casualties or the like. Or even better, call the police there. Report her missing."

Sighing, Janet nodded her approval. And suddenly Jake wasn't so sure he wanted to know what exactly happened. Fearing, and at the same time longing to know what happened, he silently asked Janet to continue.

"That's what I thought. All the police would have been able to tell you is that Sam was last seen leaving her fitness club Saturday morning. Her car was found in the back, no signs of a break-in or the like. She was reported missing by her CO when she didn't turn up for work on Monday." Janet stated quietly. "Yesterday the police got another call, reporting that Sam wasn't missing anymore, that they could stop looking."

Shocked by the answer, Jake stood up and started to pace once again. One week. Sam was missing for a whole week and he didn't even know about this. Damn! Why would anyone kidnap his little sister? The bruises on her wrist! She must have been bound all the time! No wonder she was pale and lost weight. For some reason he was sure that it must have something to do with her work. Still, why would anyone kidnap her? Why Sam? What was so special about her?

Finally he turned back to Janet. "A couple of years ago, when she gave me your phone number, she told me that if anything happened to her and she needed medical attention, I should call you first. Apparently she was exposed to some sort of chemical at work that resulting in a change of her body-chemistry. She told me that she reacted differently than anyone else to several medications, making it dangerous to be treated by anyone who didn't know her."

"Yes, that's right," Janet confirmed, waiting if Jake would continue.

"So am I right with that she was kidnapped because of her body-chemistry? Because some would-be doctor needed a test object for his experiments?" he asked incredulously.

Seeing Janet nodding once again, he continued, "But you got her back, right? And she is okay? Right?"

"She is fine, well, she will be. There are still a lot of different drugs running through her system and she will feel kinda off for the next 2 or 3 days. And I'd be lying if I say that this wasn't a traumatic experience for her. Apart from that I don't think that there will be any lasting effects. Though it's important that she eats regularly, even if it's only small amounts to gain the weight she lost again. " Janet tried to reassure him, glad that he worked it out for himself and that he could be an even bigger help for Sam now. And that she had someone she could trust with looking after Sam.

Sensing that Jake needed some time to work through everything, she got up to take a look around the backyard. So that on the one hand she could give Jake room, but she'd also be there if he had some more questions.

It was quite a while until she heard Jake approach her again. She had found a lawn chair in the back of the garden, where she was sitting now, her back to the house.

"Thanks for telling me," Jake finally started.

"You're welcome." Janet replied seriously, "I'm glad Sam has you as big brother. And don't beat yourself up about what happened. No-one could have prevented it."

After another couple of minutes of silence, Jake once again turned towards Janet.

"So, Dr. Frasier, are you still looking for a smart, good looking and charming microbiologist?" he asked in a much better mood.

"Huh? Wha… ? How do you know…?" Janet replied confused.

"Well, you asked me a couple of weeks ago if I'd be interested in an 'interesting and challenging position with the US Air Force'," he answered amused.

"I did?" she asked, still not knowing what was going on. "Wait! You are Dr. Pullman?" Janet asked shocked. Because that was the only person she recently offered a position. She had read all of his papers and was very impressed with his work, especially his unique approaches to solve certain problems. That of course made him interesting for a position at the SGC and she had contacted him even before her request for an additional microbiologist was approved of. She just never imagined that _that_ Dr. Pullman was Jake, Sam's brother! After all, although Sam told her that Jake changes his name after marrying, she never said what his new name was, nor what he did for a living!

After giving Janet a while to work things through, he replied flippantly, "Yep, that's me."

"Wow! I didn't know that was you when I offered you the position!" she stated the obvious. "And yes, it is still vacant."

"Well, I think I gathered that." Jake replied amused. "You know, Jocelyn and I have been thinking a lot about the future. Roughly two weeks ago, Jocelyn got a job offer from an art gallery in Colorado Springs, and a good one too. Add to that your job offer and everything what happened recently, we are very tempted to move to Colorado Springs. We already talked with Keenan and Lucas and though they wouldn't exactly be pleased to leave their friends behind they'd both be willing to move. And to be honest, I miss Sam. Even if she's living quite close to us now, I'd still like to see her more often. She's my little sister after all."

"And you'd be much closer to help with Caity." Janet continued for him.

"Yeah, there's that too. I think that's the main reason Keenan and Lucas agreed to a possible move. They are very protective of their little cousin."

"Well, you are well aware that you'd be working for the Air Force then, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, giving a mocking salute. "Oh those sacrifices I'm willing to take for my family," he continued theatrically.

Oh dear, this is going to be interesting, Janet thought to herself. The longer she talked with Jake, the more she realised how similar to a certain Colonel he was. Though he might not be as sarcastic as Colonel O'Neill, both seemed to have the same kind of humour and adolescent streak. Oy, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to have him working in the SGC, cause she was pretty sure those two would get along far too good, causing a lot of mayhem on the way. Suddenly another thought crossed her mind.

"Jake, there is something else. First, you'd have to undergo a very tight security check before I'd be even allowed to tell you what exactly we're working with. Not to mention to show you our facilities," after seeing his nod, she continued, "And secondly, well, I'm not sure if Sam told you, but your father is working with us occasionally…" she finished.

Sobering up immediately, Jake finally answered. "Yeah, I guess Sam mentioned it. Well, she told me over and over again that he changed, and that she forgave him a long time ago. Even Mark is talking to him again, so maybe it's time for me to give him another chance too."

"It would mean a lot to Sam."

"I know," Jake replied sighing. "What about you, do _you_ like him?"

"Yes I do. Though I don't know how he was before he changed, therefore it's easy for me to say so. But what I know is that he is good for Sam. You should see her eyes lighting up every time they meet."

Silence once more surrounded them as Jake thought about everything. Eventually he asked Janet what he had to do to get the job. Though he wasn't sure about the possibility of meeting his father after so many years, he was willing to do this for Sam. After talking some more about everything, Jake asked Janet to not tell Sam about this, at least not until he had the chance to talk to her himself. Though he didn't know when he was going to do this.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Hey, how are you doing?" Janet asked once she came back inside, finding Sam with Caity sitting on her lap at the dining table, eating. Well, they had food in front of them they were supposed to be eating.

"We've been better," Sam replied quietly.

"You should eat something, even if it's only to help clear your system."

"I know, but I'm not really hungry."

"Still, you should eat. Even if it's just one sandwich," Janet tried to coax her. As this didn't seem to work she tried another approach.

"Hey Caity, I'm Janet." she said while getting on eye-level with Sam's daughter, not even realising the slight gasp escaping her lips when she looked closely at her for the first time. Although she neither looked like Sam nor her biological father, Caity definitely belonged in this family, considering just how much she looked like Sam's brother.

"Hi," Caity finally replied after examining her closely, waving slightly.

"It's nice to finally meet you. You know your mommy told me quite a lot about you." Janet said smiling at her.

After receiving a small smile from her, Janet continued with her plan.

"I know you don't feel too good right now and neither does your mommy. Nevertheless both of you need to eat something. Especially your mommy as it would help to settle her upset tummy faster. So I thought maybe you can help her by making sure she doesn't skip meals?" Janet ask in a conspiratorial tone, trying to make it sound less serious. After all, she didn't want to upset Caity even more by implying that Sam was seriously ill.

First looking at Janet, then back at Sam, Caity tried to decide what to do. On the one hand she was concerned about her mommy but she also knew that Auntie Janet was her doctor and _she_ didn't look too concerned. But she also said it would help to get her mommy better faster, and truth to be told, Caity _was_ somewhat hungry too. Deciding that she liked Janet cause she didn't treat her like a baby, she smiled up at her, nodding her consent.

"Maybe we can share a sandwich?" Caity asked Sam cautiously. Maybe her mommy wasn't too hungry, but half a sandwich wasn't too bad, right? And she _was_ going to make sure that mommy was eating – after all, she was a big girl and could look after her mommy when she wasn't well.

Unable to ignore her daughter's pleading look, Sam slowly nodded before cutting one of the sandwiches in two, giving one half to Caity. Before she started eating though, she looked up to give Janet a hint of a smile, stating that she was pretty much aware of what Janet had been doing – and that she eventually would get back on her.

Shrugging her shoulders, Janet grinned back before turning to join Jake in the kitchen. She'd do anything to help Sam, no matter if it was fair or not. After all, what were friends for if not for things like this?

"That was mean," a smiling Jake told Janet once she left the dinning room.

"So? It worked." replied Janet. " And don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same," she added smirking. Although she only met him, she already had figured him quite well – and really liked him. Definitely aJack O'Neill in the makingshe thought, going back to her earlier thoughts.

"Well, it's my brotherly duty to look after my sister. With all means necessary," he said seriously. "Though I have to admit I couldn't have done it any better," he continued, grinning back at Janet.

Relieved by his approval Janet smiled back at him - not seeing the recently from their nap awakened twins starting an attack on her. Surely enough, they both grabbed one of her legs, holding on tightly, while Lena held up one of their favourite books.

"Auntie Janet! Here! You pwomised!" she said excitedly, while Maia put on her best pleading face.

Looking up at Jake for some help, she just got a smirk, clearly stating she was on her own. Even worse, he turned to Jocelyn who entered the kitchen just behind the twins and made a big show of kissing her. Shaking her head at his behaviour – he was supposed to be grown-up after all – she looked back down at the girls. Though she really needed to go home, she also wasn't immune to the hopeful little faces looking up at her. Well, and she _had_ promised to read a book with them.

So instead of getting ready to head home she let herself be dragged into the living room, were the girls settled themselves on either side of her, waiting for Janet to start reading their book.

xoxoxoxoxo

It was already late afternoon before Janet managed to finally go back to Colorado Springs. Nevertheless she was glad she came, because now she knew that Sam's family would be there for her. Well, she suspected this before but now she was sure of it. And she realised she loved them too. They were family, after all.

_

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A/N Sorry about the slight delay, but my muse went on an unauthorised shopping trip over the weekend. And she didn't even bring me anything! BAH! I had to send her to her room to think about what she had done wrong, but we are back in business now. I hope. LOL_

_Once again thanks to all those who reviewed (crazy… or not ;-) )! Anyway, I had some trouble writing this chapter and I'm not so sure about the outcome - sooooooo I'd really like to know what you think about it. Thanks!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Hey Doc! How is it going?" Jack called as soon as Janet set foot into the infirmary.

Damn. She really had hoped she could sneak into her office without meeting the guys from SG1. Well, she would have had to check on Colonel O'Neill soon enough, but she'd have preferred to have a few minutes to herself before meeting them. Apparently not. Sighing, she turned around to not only see Jack sitting up in his bed, but also Daniel and Teal'c standing on either side of him. Great.

"Soooo Doc, how is Sam doing?" he asked, once she was close enough that he wouldn't have to shout. He - well all three of them - were curious about Sam's whereabouts, they knew she wasn't allowed on base for the next few days, but they hadn't reached her at home either. So they came after the person most likely to know about Sam.

"She is fine," she replied, almost anticipating their - well, the Colonel's and Daniel's - reaction. If she couldn't have the 5 minutes in her office, she was at least going to have some fun!

"Janet," Daniel whined.

"Daniel," she replied amused, not able to hide the little smirk, that was forming on her face.

"Doc."

"Colonel."

Oh yes, she was really enjoying this! Especially as Colonel O'Neill was now scowling at her. Which also told her that he was feeling much better today.

"Doctor Frasier, I believe Daniel Jackson and O'Neill wish to know if you are aware of Major Carter's whereabouts, as she was not at home but, using her mobile communication device, merely informed both of them that she was indeed fine." Teal'c explained solemnly. And although Janet wasn't sure, she also thought to have seen a small smile on his face.

"Oh, then why didn't you ask in the first place?" Janet asked innocently, looking at both Jack and Daniel. And this time she was sure Teal'c was smiling. But as he was standing behind the other two, the other two weren't able to see it and continued to scowl at her.

And Teal'c was indeed smiling. When he first came to the infirmary to look after O'Neill and found both him and Daniel Jackson concerned about Major Carter's whereabouts, he too was eager to learn what Dr. Frasier knew. But seeing the Doctor relaxed, and even having a bit of fun with his two companions, he was sure that Major Carter was indeed fine. Therefore he allowed himself to enjoy the little banter in front of him.

"Fine." Daniel said, pouting slightly. "Do you know where Sam is? She is not at home and wouldn't say more than that she's fine when I called her on her mobile phone."

Still smiling at Daniel, she finally let them off the hook.

"Sam is really fine. She just had some unexpected family thing come up and she went to sort it out. I'm sure she wasn't more talkative because she was busy," she replied more seriously, remembering just _what_ Sam was doing at the moment. This morning, Janet had called Jake to see how they were doing and he had assured her that both Sam and Caity were already better, that they were going to be fine.

"So shouldn't we inform Jacob then? I mean a 'family thing' would mean him too, right?" Jack asked slightly concerned. He hadn't missed the short frown when Janet had talked about Sam. The Doc didn't seemed to be too concerned now, but that frown was enough to get him interested.

"No!" Janet replied a bit too forcefully, before continuing more calmly, "That won't be necessary. And I can assure you that Sam is just fine, she just needs time to sort some things out. General Hammond is probably going to tell you soon anyway, but Sam has taken 2 weeks off to do just that."

"Two weeks! That's a hell of a lot of time," Daniel replied. "Why didn't she tell us?"

"Because she got the call on Sunday morning, as soon as she arrived home. After that, she wanted to leave as early as possible and called General Hammond to request a vacation. She just packed some things up, told me what happened and then left. So yes, I know where she is." Janet answered without actually mentioning her own role. Not that she was directly lying, she just didn't mention that she left with Sam, actually driving her to her destination. Pushing the slight guilt about this aside, she continued on a much lighter note. "And one thing is sure, she'll definitely rest over those two weeks. Believe me, the people she's with can be just as protective as you - probably more, if that's possible at all. She won't be allowed to do anything, which is exactly what she needs right now."

"We aren't that bad!" both Jack and Daniel replied at the same time, making Janet smile once again - and telling Janet that she better release the Colonel soon or he'd be a pain in the ass to her and her staff.

"Yes, you are," Janet replied amused. Hopefully she had them convinced to leave Sam alone for a while - and her too for that matter. Shaking her head at a once again pouting Daniel, she shooed both him and Teal'c out of the infirmary, so that she could have a closer look at Colonel O'Neill. He was her patient after all.

xoxoxoxoxo

It was already late afternoon until Janet finally had time to talk to General Hammond about the open microbiologist position. She had just released Colonel O'Neill from her infirmary, making a lot of people very happy in the process, and was now heading for General Hammonds office. Daniel and Teal'c had volunteered to take the Colonel home, so she was safe from any more inquiries about Sam. At least for today. Although they had refrained from asking any more questions, she was well aware of the questioning look Colonel O'Neill was sending in her direction whenever she passed his bed. And Daniel wasn't much better. Oh yeah, Sam's return was definitely going to be very interesting!

Straightening up once more as she arrived at her destination, Janet knocked at the General's office and entered when told to do so.

"Dr. Frasier, have a seat," General Hammond greeted her warmly, happily moving the boring report he was reading aside. "You wanted to talk about the open position in your department?"

"Yes, sir."

"So can I assume that you received an answer from your favourite candidate?" he asked politely.

"Yes, sir. Dr. Pullman is very interested in the position and is also aware of the necessary security checks. He would be a great addition to the SGC," Janet replied enthusiastically.

"Very well. Why don't you leave the necessary information with me and I'll see to it that he is cleared as soon as possible."

"Thank you, sir." Janet answered hesitantly.

"Was there something else?" General Hammond asked curiously. He knew his CMO pretty well and right now she seemed to be a little nervous, something he rarely observed with her.

"Ah… yes. It's about Dr. Pullman, actually," she started, still unsure of how to proceed.

"Are you worrying he'll fail the security check?" he asked. Cause if it was something like that, than maybe they were better off with someone else, no matter how qualified he may be.

"No, I don't think that will be a problem," she replied reassuringly. Taking a deep breath, she started again. "Until this Sunday I didn't know him personally, we've been only in contact via e-mail or phone. On Sunday I learned that he changed his name to his wife's after marrying her."

"Why would that be a problem?" General Hammond asked completely confused. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a reason why Dr. Frasier was bringing this up. It was after all a personal decision Dr. Pullman made and should have nothing do with him possibly starting to work here.

"Well, he used to go by Jacob Carter, Jr."

"WHAT?" he all but shouted. To say he was shocked, would have been an understatement. "Sorry Major," he continued after taking a deep breath, "I didn't meant to shout at you, but this was absolutely unexpected!"

"It's okay, sir. To be honest, my reaction was about the same when Jake told me _he_ was actually the Dr. Pullman I offered a job a few weeks earlier," she replied, smiling slightly.

"Please continue," he asked, still trying to figure things out.

"Well, Sam told me about Jake a long time ago. She just never mentioned him changing his name, so I assumed he was still going by Jake Carter. Anyway, on Sunday Sam needed to go there, and as she was in no position to drive herself, I offered to drive her to Denver. It actually was the first time I met Jake and his family and at some point he asked me if that job was still available. To say I was dumbfounded by his question would be an understatement," she said, smiling as she remembered that particular question. "Anyway, Sam wasn't and still isn't aware of this job offer. And Jake would like to keep it this way, until he's hopefully accepted to join us."

"Wow, that's something," General Hammond finally muttered.

"I know what you mean, sir," Janet replied sympathetically, before giving him time to think things through.

Another Carter at the SGC, because no matter what his name was now, if he hadn't changed completely he was a Carter through and through. Including the stubbornness. Yes, this would definitely be interesting. According to Dr. Frasier, Jake also had the same knack for thinking outside the box as Sam, something that was a big advantage around here, which of course was the main reason why she wanted him to work here. Even before she knew he was Sam's brother. Also, knowing how much Jake meant to Sam, he figured it'd probably good for her too – and he should be a good ally in getting her to leave the base more regularly. All those things were in favour of Jake – no, Dr. Pullman as he called himself these days.

The only problem he could think of was Jake's relationship with his father. According to Jacob, the last time he saw or spoke to his son was at his wife's funeral. Even Sam wasn't able to get Jake talking to his father again, although Jake would do almost everything for her. But in their line of work at the SGC a meeting of both of them was inevitably, they might even have to work together. So before he could make any decision concerning Jake, he had to make sure that that wasn't going to become a problem.

"Dr. Frasier, I assume you are aware of the difficult relationship between Dr. Pullman – Jake – and his father?" he asked after several minutes. Having known Jake quite well when he was a teenager, calling him Dr. Pullman just sounded weird. So he decided to stick with the familiar Jake for the time being.

"Yes, sir. And Jake is aware that he might run into his father and even have to work with him, and he's willing to do so. He isn't exactly excited about the prospect of meeting him after all these years, but he's willing to give it a try. Even if it wouldn't work out on the personal level, I'm absolutely confident that it won't affect any possible working relationship." Janet replied confidently.

Weighing his options once again, he finally decided to go with his CMO's instincts in finding the best personal for her department. And truth be told, Jake _was_ a Carter, so he would fit here just fine.

"Very well then. I'll make sure to get the security check out of the way as soon as possible. Then you can tell Jake what exactly he will be doing here, giving him the chance to back off again." he finally said, before adding on a lighter note, "Although, to be honest, I can't see him doing so. He's a Carter after all and the Stargate seems to have an in-built Carter-magnet or something."

"You might be right on that one, sir." Janet replied chuckling.

"So can I assume that Major Carter is spending her holidays in Denver with her brother?" General Hammond asked suddenly.

"Yes, sir." Janet replied cautiously. She so didn't want to start a discussion _why_ Sam was there in the first place.

Sensing her uneasiness with this topic, the General asked concerned, "I hope there is nothing wrong with Jake. Or his family?"

"No, sir. Don't worry, Jake's family is fine. Actually, they'll make sure that Sam gets the rest she needs. As for anything else happening, I'm sure that if there's something to talk about, Major Carter will be doing so as soon as she gets back from her holiday," Janet replied, her tone clearly indicating that she wasn't going to say more. Though General Hammond was her CO, this was something very personal for Sam and she had no right to interfere in any way.

Understanding her unwillingness to discuss her friend's personal life with their CO, he nodded in understanding, letting the topic drop. Nevertheless he was wondering what the near future would bring to them. And if Jake's willingness to possibly work with his estranged father had something to do with it.

Finally dismissing Dr. Frasier, he went back to the long forgotten report on his desk. Though it took quite some time before he was able to concentrate on it again, as he was still pondering the definitely interesting talk he just had with his base's CMO. One this was for sure, life never got boring at the SGC.

_

* * *

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! They really made my day and I'm glad you liked it, especially after the trouble I had writing it! _

_Anyway, writing this chapter turned out to be pretty… interesting. I like to write stuff backwards, like writing the introduction at the end – or start with the last scene of a chapter. That's what I did here but when I was almost finished I realised that this part was long enough to be a chapter on it's own! Then I wrote the first scene and realised I had Jack running around the base as if nothing had happened, so I had to slightly rewrite this part too. Looks like my friend, the muse, was having fun again. LOL_

_To answer a couple of your questions … we are going to learn about Caity's father in the next chapter. GateSeeker2: the answers to your questions are 'Yes', 'Maybe', 'Never thought about it … yet' – but you have to decide which answers which. LOL. _

_Anyway, please don't forget to review! Thanks! And as the next chapter is almost finished – of course it's missing the beginning – it should be out by Friday._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

If you'd ask Sam, then the last two weeks went far too fast. After getting over the initial shock of Susan's and Aaron's death, she spent a lot of time thinking about the future - and was finally quite happy with the decisions she made. Now only the General had to agree with them - well, and then there were the guys from SG-1. Truth be told, she was much more afraid of their reaction than of General Hammond's. After all, there were supposed to be friends, and - even more important - they had to trust each other in order to survive the odd difficulties they frequently managed to get themselves into.

Oh well, she'd have to deal with it once the time was right. Pushing these things aside, although it wasn't exactly easy, her thoughts went back to her daughter. For the first couple of days in Denver, Caity hadn't let her out of sight and they spent much more time than usual in their rocking chair. But three days after the funeral, the twins had enough of being patient and leaving their favourite aunt and cousin alone. So said morning - well, very _early_ morning - Sam and Caity were awoken by Maia and Lena jumping up and down on their bed. Once the girls were sure that the two, former sleeping, occupants of the bed were awake now, they plopped down on either side of them, unceremoniously shoving a book into Sam's lap. Knowing there was no way she'd be able to go back to sleep, Sam sat up, letting her daughter sit between her legs so Caity could lean back against Sam chest. And after making sure the twins were covered and warm and comfortable leaning against her side, she started to read.

When about an hour later Jake opened the door to their guest room looking for his errant twins, he couldn't help but smile. Sam, Caity and his twins were snuggled close together, fast asleep. Quietly closing the door again, he went to fetch his wife and their digital camera. Now, this picture marked the turning point for Caity to start coping with her parents death. She'd still stay close to Sam but she'd also play with her cousins again, something she hadn't done since her parents died. And she was laughing again, even if it was still rare at first. By the time Sam had to leave for Colorado Springs, Caity was on a good way back to her former self, though she still was quieter than usual and needed to be comforted more often. She was also going back to school and seemed to do just fine. So although she had to leave, Sam knew that her daughter was going to be fine, which was the most important thing to her right now.

Sam had called Caity before leaving for work and they had talked for quite a while. Ever since that first day the twins had made it a habit of sneaking into the room - although to a more appropriate time now - book in hand. Apparently they loved this little ritual so much that they came this morning too, graciously allowing Caity to read to them. Fondly remembering the rest of their talk, Sam finally pulled up at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, carefully slipping back into Major Carter mode.

xoxoxoxoxo

Now Sam was nervously standing in front of General Hammond's office, trying to get the courage to knock. Realising that she had no choice but to talk to him rather sooner than later, she took a deep breath before finally raising her hand, knocking at the office door.

"Enter!"

Taking another deep breath, Sam opened the door. "Sir, do you have a couple of minutes?"

"Major! Come in! It's good to have you back. I hope you had a good vacation?" General Hammond said smiling, looking up from the report he was currently reading – and truth be told, he was glad for the interruption.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Sam replied smiling, fondly remembering the time she spent with her daughter and her brother's family.

"Good. So, what can I help you with?" he asked her, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.

Turning around, Sam closed the door while seeing that the blinds on the window were thankfully closed, before coming to the desk. She sat down in one of the chairs, subconsciously biting her lower lip, eyes nervously focused on her hands in her lap, as she tried to find the right words to start.

"Major, is something wrong?" General Hammond asked concerned after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Um, no sir. Not really," Sam replied blushing slightly, as in her musings she hadn't realised the time passing. Taking a deep breath, she continued quietly, "I know it comes unexpected and all, but I'd like to request a more base-bound position within the SGC, sir."

Not being able to look at General Hammond, she once again stared at her hands. And the longer the following silence remained, the more nervous she became. Finally looking up at General Hammond, she found him scrutinising her intensely. Though she started to blush even more, this time she continued to look at him, waiting for his response.

"You are right, this comes unexpected. Completely. Therefore I'd really like to know why," he finally replied.

"It's rather personal, sir."

Sighing, General Hammond started, "Major Carter, you are one of the finest officers I ever had the pleasure to work with. But you also have to understand that I'm rather puzzled by your request and truth be told, I like to know more about your reasons. "

Seeing Sam getting ready to protest he held up his hand before continuing, "I think I know you good enough to realise that your request wasn't an easy or rushed one and therefore I like to know what stands behind it. Listen Major – Sam, I won't order you to tell me your reasons, but rather ask you as someone who has known you for a long time, ask you as an old family friend. Off the record, if you like. But whatever your decision, consider your request acknowledged and I will think about it, though I'll expect a written statement with what exactly you mean by 'a more base-bound position'."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Sam answered, relieved that he wasn't going to push her for an explanation.

Standing up, she waited to be dismissed before turning and moving to open the office door. But as soon as her hand reached the door knob it stopped moving on its own accord. Damn, damn, damn! What the hell was she supposed to do now? On the one hand she was relieved that he didn't _order_ her to answer his questions, but on the other hand this order would have taken the decision out of her hand. A decision she dreaded to be making. A decision she almost _hoped_ for to be taken by someone else! Crap, why did he have to start with the old family friend routine? Because he was right. Because he knew her since she was a little girl. Because he knew her pretty well.

Leaning her head on the door, she took a deep breath, decision made.

"Off the record?" she asked almost inaudible.

"Off the record," he agreed.

"Okay," Sam said, finally turning around again, though she was still not able to meet his eyes.

Seeing Sam's inner struggle, Hammond stood up to walk around his desk, where he sat down in the chair next to Sam's. There was no sense in having the desk as barrier between them when they were talking privately. Patiently waiting for Sam to gather her thoughts and start talking he couldn't help but wonder what it was that one of his best officers had left in this state.

Taking a couple of minutes to gather her thoughts, Sam finally started to explain.

"While I was being held by Adrian Conrad, close friends of mine – Susan and Aaron Carter – died in a freak accident in Denver. Jake tried to reach me since Wednesday afternoon, but I was obviously not there," she said bitterly. "Jake was going to call you, if I wouldn't have called by Sunday night," she added, looking straight at General Hammond, waiting for his reaction. Of course she didn't need to tell him who Jake was. After all, he was an old family friend as he had just stated a couple of minutes earlier. Seeing his understanding nod, she quietly continued her tale.

"Anyway, Susan and Aaron weren't just close friends, they were also the foster parents to Caitlin Hope Carter – my daughter…" Sam all but breathed out. _This_ got the General's attention!

Not waiting for another reaction than the surprised and slightly shocked look the General gave her, Sam continued.

"Well, I was pregnant when I left Colorado Springs for the pentagon, though I didn't really knew it until I was already in Washington. People at work thought it odd that I didn't want to talk about the baby, so the rumours started. When I returned from my maternity leave without my baby, the rumours came back full force – and it was soon decided that I had given up my baby for adoption. And I didn't correct them, I was actually glad about this becoming the version everyone accepted."

Seeing understanding dawning on the General's face, Sam continued, "I take it you heard the rumours then?" receiving a nod, she added almost quietly, "Dad?"

"I think he knows, well about the adoption anyway," the General confirmed her fears, still trying to take everything in himself.

"Why did you say you were _glad_ about everyone thinking you gave your baby up for adoption?" he asked after several minutes, suddenly aware of her rather unusual choice of words.

"Because that meant she was safe," she replied quietly.

"Safe? Why would she be in danger?" the General asked confused, but getting no answer from Sam.

Suddenly he had another thought. "Sam, I know it's non of my business, but what about her biological father? Couldn't he have helped?" he asked gently. Getting only a snort for an answer, he continued to probe gently, as he had a fairly good idea of who it might be. "Jonas Hanson?"

Seeing her flinch, he knew he was right. Well, it wasn't too difficult to guess, since they broke their engagement about the same time she left for Washington.

And suddenly realisation hit, "You were afraid of him! But why? Do you really think he would have been able to hurt his own child?" he asked incredulously. Sure, he wasn't the most stable of persons as the General had to learn at the SGC, but still.

After all, it was one thing to conceal the existence of a child from its father, but giving said child to foster parents, just to keep it safe from a father who didn't know about the child's existence in the first place, was surely a complete over-reaction! Right? Or so he thought – at least until he saw the deep pain in Sam's eyes when she finally looked up at him.

"Believe me, I knew what I was doing. I _know_ it looks like a complete over-reaction. But I knew Jonas, the way he worked, they way he thought. He already had too many messed up mission, even before he joined the SGC. That's also why I broke our engagement. Unfortunately he was brilliant in disguising his true mental state. He knew all the right answers to pass any psych evaluation." she said bitterly. "Jonas also had friends in all the right places. I learned that the hard way," she finished harshly, a lone tear trailing down her face. Angrily whipping off the tear drop, she got up to start pacing around the General's office.

Seeing the distress that the conversation brought to Sam, the General decided to go back on slightly safer ground. Though he couldn't help but wonder what Sam meant with her last statement. There sure was more to that story than Sam let on.

"So what happened with your daughter, if you didn't give her up for adoption?" he asked gently.

"I had help from Jake. And Catherine Langford. They were the only people who knew about the pregnancy _and_ who the father was, what he was capable of. The Carters were friends of Catherine's, they always wanted to have children but weren't able to conceive. They were good people, I knew I could trust them the minute we met. Having the same surname made things pretty easy too, as no-one would question them being Caity's real parents," she explained calmer than before.

"Once I had to get back to work, I left my little girl with them. That was the hardest part. But at least she was safe. Then I met Jonas at the SGC, and was sure I'd done the right thing." Sam continued quietly, finally sitting down again.

"Three years ago, Susan and Aaron moved to Denver and I was able to see Caity more often. Jake and his family followed soon after and made sure that Caity knew everyone of her family. Jake was actually the emergency contact, should something happen to Caity's parents and so she was staying with Jake's family ever since the accident."

Giving the General a few minutes to take everything in, she finally continued. "During the last two weeks I had a lot of time to think about the future – and I'm going to take Caity in. There's no way I'm going to give her up again. Not when I'm finally able to keep her safe. That's why I can't stay away for days on end, why I need a more regular schedule," she finished almost pleadingly.

Shocked by everything he learned over the last minutes, by the sacrifices Sam had to make – cause for some reason he knew that Sam's fears weren't unfounded – General Hammond finally asked, "Have you talked with the rest of SG-1 about all this, because this is definitely going to change things."

Seeing her shake her head, he continued, "I see. So what do you think would be best to accommodate your new personal situation?"

"Sir?"

"I'm sure you already have some sort of solution for this. So why don't you tell me about it, cause it would make my job much easier if I'd have something to work with," he said, smiling encouragingly.

"Yes, sir. Well, Caity is staying with Jake until school finishes in a few weeks. After that I'd like to take some more time off to move her in, get things organised and the like. As for SG-1, I'm not sure. I'd still like to go off-world, though not as often as before or more on shorter missions. Maybe SG-1 could be joined by someone else for certain missions, like when Daniel is occasionally joining other teams. Then again, I'm sure they'd be fine as three-man team too." she replied uncertain.

It wasn't an easy decision, though truth be told, it was made as soon as Jake told her what happened, well taking Caity in that is. Trying to find the best possible way to do so, was an entirely different matter. Sure, she could have withdrawn from gate travel completely, but if she was honest, she wouldn't have been happy with that. Not in the long run. And Caity might have been the one paying for it, however unintentionally it might be. Sam was only human after all and she knew she wasn't perfect.

"This sounds like you've put already a lot of thoughts into this, not that I expected anything less from you. I will take your suggestion into consideration, I actually like the sound of it, but can't guarantee anything. Not yet anyway. It's also a decision I can't and won't make without talking to the rest of SG-1. After you had a chance to explain yourself, of course," he replied thoughtfully after a while, bringing Sam out of her own thoughts.

If he was honest with himself, he quite liked that idea, especially as it would mean Major Carter's expertise would still be available off-world. It was also much better than the alternative of Major Carter withdrawing completely from off-world travel. Yes, this idea was really worth thinking about. And knowing her, he was sure she already had someone in mind, who'd be able to replace her from time to time. Putting that question aside for the moment, he asked curiously, "What about Caity? What happens to her when you can't be home overnight?"

"Dr. Fraiser is willing to help out whenever possible. I've also talked to Cassie's former babysitter, and she'd be willing to work for me too. She's already used to stay overnight from Dr. Fraiser and would be willing to do so if need be. And if I should be away on weekends, Jake and his family would take over. It might not be easy, but I know it's going to work. I've done it before," Sam replied confidently.

Nodding, General Hammond thought about the talk he had with Dr. Frasier two weeks ago. By the sound of it, Jake wouldn't only be able to help on weekends, but also during the week, though apparently he wasn't willing to say something to Sam, at least until he was sure he had the job. It also suddenly made sense that Jake was willing to meet with his father and even work with him if need be - a fact Dr. Frasier made sure he was aware of before making any decision on the job. Jake was always willing to set his own needs aside if I'd help Sam, something that obviously hadn't changed over the years. Although, if he understood Dr. Frasier correctly, his wife and children were willing to move too, his wife even having a job waiting for her.

"Very well then, I'll think about it and expect you to talk with SG-1," General Hammond answered. Seeing the fear in Sam's eyes he continued reassuringly, "It doesn't have to be right now, but make sure you don't wait too long. It won't get any easier that way."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Sam answered relieved.

"Before you leave though," he started seriously before continuing with a smile, "I'd like to see a picture. If you have one that is."

Relaxing, Sam nodded before getting a couple of pictures out to show the General.

Leaving the office a few minutes later, Sam was relieved that this went even better than she expected. Now if she only had that talk with Colonel O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c already…

_

* * *

A/N So, here you are. We know who Caity's father is. We might not like it, but I couldn't think of any reasonable way to get around it. Though a friend asked if it could be Pete and I found this so unexpected, that I almost did this. After all, he is a friend of Mark and therefore could have met Sam much earlier than season 7! But unfortunately I was threatened to have very bad things happening to me if I did indeed change the already written part :( ! LOL_

_Anyway, Muse and I are best friends now. Forever. Honestly. As I'm really bad with names I started to call her Muse – I mean, I always wanted to call a dog Dog or a cat Cat (or even better, a dog Cat and vice versa) – and now I caught her referring to herself as Muse! Ha! I won! Me1 (YAY!), Muse27… oh well. As for the claim I'm procrastinating when SG-1 finds out about Caity on purpose… well, that's not me, that's Muse! LOL … Me2 , Muse27… Bah!_

_Once again a big thank you to all those who reviewed! It really helps in getting the next chapter done! _


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Glad that the talk with General Hammond was over, Sam started to head to her lab. Maybe she would take the alternative route by the infirmary. Yep, that's what she would do. Unfortunately, Sergeant Siler had something else in mind. This man had the worst possible timing when it came to needing her help with one thing or another!

So instead of going to the infirmary to tell Janet about her meeting with General Hammond, Sam found herself heading for the power room. Apparently they recently experienced an unusual high amounts of short-circuits, but so far Siler hadn't found the reason for it. Luckily, no real damage was done, yet, but they might not stay that lucky forever. It took quite a while but they finally managed to narrow it down to only a few possibilities. After another hour Sam finally sighed. Or course it had to be the last thing they checked! Just for once she wished that it was the other way round!

Leaving Sergeant Siler to finish up, she tried once again to make it to the infirmary. But of course, this wasn't going to happen. As soon as the elevator doors opened for her to enter, she was greeted by three happy faces. Well, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel were grinning and Teal'c - yep - he was smiling too, however vague it may be.

"Sam!" Daniel said excitedly before engulfing her in a big hug. "It's great to have you back!"

"And it be even greater if you wouldn't suffocate her," Jack replied sarcastically.

"Uhm, sorry Sam," Daniel said blushing.

"It's okay. I missed you too," Sam replied smiling, realising that this was the truth, no matter how afraid she was of how they were going to react to her news.

"Sooo, Carter. Family things all cleared up?" Jack asked in a light tone, a tone that didn't fool Sam for a second.

"Yes, sir." Sam replied seriously just as they left the elevator, silently telling him that she was going to talk about it. Eventually.

Nodding his understanding, Jack let the topic drop. For the moment anyway. He knew her far to good to push her to do something she didn't wanted.

Apparently the infirmary had to wait, again, because they were heading for the commissary and a look at her watch told her it was already afternoon! How did that happen? And if this wouldn't have been enough, her stomach choose that moment to comment on its missed lunch. It was treated to such nice food over the last couple of weeks and now suddenly nothing? No way that it was going to let it pass like this! Not without a major complaint anyway!

"Missed lunch?" Jack asked knowingly, grinning at her, the slight tension from earlier gone.

"Uhm… Sergeant Siler needed some help with a power problem and apparently it took longer than I thought," Sam replied sheepishly.

"Ah, good ol' Sergeant Siler, " Jack replied knowingly, causing Daniel to roll his eyes at him.

Once they reached the commissary, Jack made sure that Sam made up for her missed lunch before he would allow her any dessert. She didn't mind at all as she was indeed really hungry and dessert alone wouldn't have taken care of that. She also enjoyed the banter and camaraderie, realising how much she had missed it over the last weeks. They talked about what everyone had been doing during that time, especially as the Colonel used his medical leave to head up to his cabin, while Daniel and Teal'c went off-world with other teams.

Sam stayed pretty vague – the commissary wasn't exactly the place she wanted to be to have _The Talk_ after all – but the guys didn't mind at all. At least for the time being. Nevertheless, Sam felt much better already, knowing they would give her the time and support she needed.

Just as they were about to leave the commissary, Sam was approached by Dr. Felger and Dr. Coombs. Groaning, amusing Jack and Daniel in doing so, she waited so they could catch up with her.

"Major Carter! It is so good to have you back!" Jay Felger said, while both he and Simon Coombs looked adoringly up at her. This of course cause Jack to raise his eye-brows in mock shock.

"Carter, anything we should know?" he asked grinning.

"Sir," Sam said half-annoyed.

"Uhm, Sam, we better leave you to your … uhm … work then," Daniel said, while taking Jack by the arm, dragging him away.

Teal'c slightly bowed toward Sam before sending a stern look in the direction of the two scientist and following Daniel in the general direction of the elevators.

"Dr. Felger, Dr. Coombs, what can I help you with," Sam asked sighing, after sending a longing look after the rest of her team.

"Yes, of course! There is this device SG-4 brought back last week and we are not quite sure what it is," Jay Felger started enthusiastically.

"We already found that it emits an energy pattern we haven't seen before, it seems to fluctuate randomly," Simon Coombs continued, pushing his glasses back to their correct position.

"It's really fascinating!" Felger added, still looking adoringly at Sam, causing Coombs to whisper disapprovingly "Felger! Stop it!"

Rolling her eyes at the two scientists - only inwardly of course! - Sam decided to better get it over with and follow them to their lab. Goodbye Infirmary; goodbye, you oh so being looked forward to chat with Janet!

Sam had to admit, the device looked very interesting! It was about the size of her hand, irregular shaped and, though it didn't look like it, felt kinda soft when touched. And although the emitted energy pattern seemed to be random, certain parts were repeated - if you knew what you were looking for. An hour after she found this, a memory from Jolinar decided to make itself known. Apparently they were looking at a toy, designed by a race that was sensitive to the emitted energy. It was used pretty much the same way as any teddy bear here on earth - to comfort children, to help them sleep. _Great_, Sam thought sarcastically, _very interesting indeed_.

Once again heading for the infirmary, Sam hoped she'd make it this time. And she did. Unfortunately, Janet left well over 30 minutes ago. Apparently it was much later than Sam thought. After looking at the time, it was close to 1900 hours already, Sam hurried to her lab to pack up and leave for home. Caity was waiting for her phone call after all!

If things kept going in this pace, she might never find the time for _The Talk_!

xoxoxoxoxo

Tuesday morning came bright and early and Sam hoped she actually got to do some of her own experiments! Well, at least she managed to talk to Janet last night, so that was out of the way. She hadn't even realised how much she actually needed to hear that the guys - though maybe not immediately - were surely going to forgive her. So feeling much better than mere 24 hours ago, Sam entered the SGC, heading straight for her lab.

Apart from a short coffee break when Daniel came for a short visit, Sam managed to work almost 3 hours straight until the klaxons suddenly started to sound.

"Unscheduled off-world activation! Unscheduled off-world activation!"

Sighing, Sam put the tool she was using down and went to see what happened. There were only two SG-teams off-world, and both on planets they already had peace-treaties with. Therefore, chances were pretty good it was the Tok'ra - maybe even her dad.

The device and tools left in her lab were forgotten as soon as she reached the control room, as it were indeed the Tok'ra, though not her dad, showing up. And a briefing later, SG-1 had a new mission waiting for them. According to the Tok'ra, the Goa'uld were scouting P3X116 for a new base, which was never a good thing in the first place. So SG-1's mission was to go there in the cover of the night, to get more intelligence on the situation and to hopefully come up with a plan encouraging the Goa'uld to leave.

They had 3 hours until it got dark enough on P3X116 for the plan to work. After having lunch together, the members of SG-1 went about last minute preparations for the upcoming mission, including Sam calling her brother, telling him that she probably wouldn't be able to call Caity tonight. Sam felt guilty about the phone call she was going to miss, but pushed that thoughts aside as soon as she entered the embarkation room. Now was no time for guilt, not when they went into enemy territory.

The mission went off fairly easy. They got around several Jaffa patrols and finally seemed to be getting closer to their aim, as the frequency of patrols they encountered increased. Though they had to use many detours to avoid being detected, they finally managed to get to the outskirts of the Goa'uld camp. As the sun was just starting to rise, they decided to dig in, observe and wait. It worked great for a couple of hours, although more and more Jaffa arrived.

Then everything went south as suddenly even more Jaffa turned up, flanking a Goa'uld. They didn't have to wait long to learn who they were dealing with. Unfortunately, he turned out to be Tanith – something that made for one very unhappy Jaffa. And as if this wasn't enough, their position was compromised by one of the Jaffa. Though he was quickly taken care of, they had to leave their hide out. Fast. This time they headed straight for the Stargate, shooting Jaffas as soon as they came into view. This time there was no going stealthily, this time was all about surviving.

As soon as they had to leave the cover of the trees, death gliders joined in as well. Still, they made it to the gate uninjured, dialled home and left. At least Daniel, Sam and Jack did. Teal'c turned around once more to get a good shot at the alkesh, that was piloted by Tanith. Satisfied by his successful shot, Teal'c turned and entered the wormhole seconds before the alkesh crashed into the DHD, trapping him - unbeknownst to himself - within earth' Stargate.

So instead of calling Caity, Sam did everything to get Teal'c back. Even if it meant to work with this idiot Dr. Rodney McKay, Colonel Simmons Stargate specialist who hasn't even seen the Stargate work before! So while Daniel played diplomat in Russia, she tried to at least _not_ kill McKay on the spot. Even though she could think of so many creative ways to do so. Rather, she channelled the aggression she felt towards McKay into working even harder on getting Teal'c back. And in the end, it was all worth it. By Friday night, they had Teal'c back, Colonel Simmons was arrested and McKay was sent 'To Russia, with love' - and maybe some extra lemons.

Usually, Friday night would be a good time for _The Ttalk_. But after going with almost no sleep for the last 60 h and having to cope with McKay on top of it, all Sam wanted to do now was to go home, curl up in bed and sleep. And as much as she'd love to go to Denver and sleep there, she knew chances were pretty slim she'd arrive there safe and sound. No, she'd go there tomorrow morning, which of course left no time for any team-time over the weekend. Well, Sam was sure General Hammond would understand that she found no time to talk to her team, yet.

xoxoxoxoxo

Unfortunately, the next week turned out to be just as … _interesting_ … as the one before. The first two days, and nights if she was honest, were spent working on some last minute experiments, before the device in question was shipped off to Area 51 for further studying. And the scientist in Sam hated nothing more than unfinished work. Just as she had finished up, the Colonel all but ordered her to her quarters to catch some sleep. According to him, he couldn't risk to have a sleep deprived Major at his hands when the Tok'ra turned up next, asking them to go on another _easy_ mission, that would undoubtedly turn into something nasty.

Funnily enough, a Tok'ra representative _did_ arrive the next morning, asking for SG-1's and especially Daniel's help. So merely an hour later SG-1 left for the Tok'ra base on Revanna for a more detailed briefing. Also tagging along was a group of new recruits for their basic off-world orientation, a mission that was planned for days and now happened to start off with SG-1's.

On the one side, Sam was truly happy to see her dad again. But on the other side she once again felt guilty for not telling him about Caity. Unfortunately he was going with Daniel, so they wouldn't have time to properly talk either. Anyway, there was no point in wasting the time she could spent with her dad by feeling bad, however short it may be. She'd made the best out of it instead, hoping there'd by time for more soon.

It didn't take long to finish the briefing and final preparations for the mission and then Daniel and Jacob Carter were gone. Sam decided to use the time to talk with some of the Tok'ra scientists about some of their common research interests. What she hadn't expected when making her request was to see Lantash again, and alive at that! But before the implications of this could really think in, all hell broke loose as the Tok'ra tunnels were shaking by several explosions, indicating a Goa'uld attack.

xoxoxoxoxo

At the same time in the SGC, General Hammond, who was reading a report, was interrupted by a knock on his office door. Sighing, he put the report down, replying,

"Enter!"

The door was slowly pushed open with Dr. Fraiser standing in front of it, looking questioningly and maybe even a bit nervously at him.

"Sir, do you have a couple of minutes?" And after receiving a nod she continued sheepishly, "Well, I know it is pretty much on short notice and I hope you don't mind, but Dr. Pullman will be here in about 30 minutes. You told me to invite him whenever it suited both of us, so I could show him everything. Well, he preferred to have a look around when Sam wasn't here so I called him this morning. Now I was wondering if you'd like to do the briefing yourself, sir."

Raising an eyebrow at his CMO who had slowly entered his office while explaining the situation to him, he thought why not. At least there weren't any emergencies, SG-1 was safe on the Tok'ra base, and he _had_ given his CMO a free hand on when to meet with Jake. Last but not least, _he_ was curious too!

Nodding curtly, he had at least to pretend he had the authority around here after all, he replied: "Okay, bring him here once all the formalities are done. I'll brief him personally," and after a few seconds he continued grinning, "I wouldn't want to miss his reaction after all!"

With that he dismissed his CMO, waiting for the things to come.

Roughly an hour later, as Sam was fighting for her life within the Tok'ra tunnels on Revanna, General Hammond was interrupted in doing his paper work again.

"Enter!" he called, trying to hide his curiosity in his voice, while coming around his desk. As the door opened, he couldn't help but gasp at just how much Jake resembled his father when he was his age, though it looked like Jake would at least keep his hair a bit longer than Jacob did.

"Jake, it's good to see you again," he finally greeted warmly, offering his hand.

"Thanks, it's good to see you too," Jake replied, while taking his surroundings in. So far he had only seen grey corridors, papers to be signed, more corridors, more papers, and finally … more papers. This office and the large room behind the window were at least a small change in that particular routine.

"So what are you hiding down here, that made Sam giving up her dream of becoming an astronaut?" he asked curiously.

Chuckling, General Hammond replied, "You've always been straight to the point, Jake. Why don't you take a seat and I try to explain what we are doing around here?"

Motioning for Dr. Frasier to take the other seat, he got behind his desk to start the infamous tale of how the Stargate was found, brought here and how its secrets were finally revealed. Once he finished he, well both him and Dr. Frasier, waited for a reaction from Jake. It took a while, but finally he broke out laughing. _Hard_. Of the many reactions both of the other occupants of the room expected, this wasn't one and their confusion was obvious on their faces.

"So, you are telling me that my baby sister, who wanted to go into space ever since she was three, actually does exactly that?" he asked incredulously once he calmed down a bit. "Oh god, only Sam would manage to pull something off like this. Only Sam!" he continued shaking his head, still smiling.

"Yes, she is definitely one of a kind," General Hammond agreed whole-heartedly, relieved that Jake hadn't gone mad after all. Something he considered, even if it was only for a couple of seconds.

"Okay, I'm in. When do I start?" Jake said grinning. After all, how often did you get offered to work on alien micro-organisms? Damn, he still couldn't believe it. Aliens were real! His baby sister was regularly travelling to other planets! Unbelievable!

"Just like this?" General Hammond asked.

"Just like this," Jake confirmed. "That is if you still want me."

"Of course we do!" Janet replied enthusiastically, before having the courtesy to add blushing, "Sorry, sir."

"It's okay, Dr. Frasier. Why don't you show Jake around, answer the questions he'll surely have?" General Hammond replied smiling. Yes, today was a good day.

xoxoxoxoxo

On the way to the infirmary, Janet answered some general questions Jake had. But once they got into her office, she talked about the order in the galaxy. The friends they made, their enemies. And while she was telling Jake the basics about their war with the Goa'uld, SG-1 minus Daniel were running from said enemy, trying to reach the long-distance communicators to warn Daniel and Jacob, running to stay alive.

To say Jake was surprised that there weren't only friendly aliens out there would be a lie. As soon as he learned about the aliens, about what Sam was doing for a living he also knew where all her injuries came from. Because one thing was sure, you didn't get injured while meeting with friends. Still, Sam loved her job and he could understand why.

An hour later, Janet was talking about what would be expected of him, before showing him around. If Jake wouldn't have already decided to start working here, even though it meant working for the Air Force, he would have been after the tour of the labs. To say he was impressed would be an understatement. They had all the equipment any microbiologist could wish for - and according to Janet they needed every single piece of it.

When it was finally time to leave, he was more than sure to have made the right decision. He wouldn't just take the job to help Sam with Caity, no, he would take it because he really, _really_ wanted to. Saying good-bye to Janet, he once more asked her to leave it to him to tell Sam the news. Smiling, she promised not to say anything. And she was happy with it, because it was a small price to pay for getting a brilliant microbiologist.

And Sam was still running.

xoxoxoxoxo

Early next morning, General Hammond's good mood about recruiting Jake and his obvious enthusiasm about everything was gone. The good day was yesterday. Today was wasn't a good day anymore. Today was bad. Very bad. They had just received a message from Revanna.

The Tok'ra base was no more. A lot of Tok'ra had died. His own people had died. Tonight he would have to write four more letters to the families of his dead men. As if this wasn't enough, there was a new Goa'uld out there. A Goa'uld that could turn out to be far more dangerous than any of the previous encountered ones.

But there were positive news too. They now knew that the chemical the Tok'ra were working on did indeed work. According to Colonel O'Neill, there were thousands of dead Jaffa around the Stargate, and SG-1 and the few remaining Tok'ra were safe now. Unfortunately, they had to wait another day for the chemical to dilute enough so that both Jacob and Teal'c could safely get close to the Stargate too. But, once again, they were safe.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, General Hammond picked up the red phone to call the President. They finally had a potent weapon against the Goa'uld.

_

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews I received for the last chapter! They always make me want to sit down immediately and write more! Unfortunately, I have to write some (read: a lot) of RL-stuff at the moment, so I have less time to write on this story. Nevertheless, I'm still trying to write one chapter per week – I, NO, Muse just has to be more efficient :)! LOL_

_Anyway, thanks again for reading and a special thanks to those who reviewed so far! Once again, please tell me what you think about this chapter! Thanks!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Once again, Sam spent the weekend with her daughter in Denver. Though she arrived just before lunch on Saturday, they still made the best out of it and Sam felt truly refreshed to start this weeks work. Hopefully it was less eventful than the two previous ones, because she was sure General Hammond wouldn't and above all couldn't allow her to avoid _The Talk_ much longer. Then there was Jake. His behaviour was slightly off, as if he knew something special but wouldn't share it with her, although he'd really, _really_ loved to do just that. Oh well, she'd have to wait and see.

Strangely enough, Monday came and went without anything bad happening. She even managed to finish some things up, spent a pleasant lunch with the rest of her team and … was still delaying _The Talk_. Lunch would have been a good opportunity to simply invite the guys over for some food, some fun, some serious talking. But no, she chickened out. Again. Angry with herself, Sam went by the infirmary to talk to Janet. Unfortunately she was pretty busy, but seeing the distress Sam was in, invited her over for dinner so they could figure out a way to make it easier on Sam.

In the end it's always nice to have a plan, but unfortunately something else, something unexpected, tended to get in the way.

By Tuesday afternoon, Sam had finally accomplished the simple task to invite the guys over to her place and she was quite pleased with herself. Not that she had problems with the invitation itself, no, the problem was the implication of it. She was still afraid of their reactions - especially Daniel's as he'd probably be less than pleased to learn that Sam left her daughter with foster parents, even after she knew what happened to him - but finally managed to truly believe that it would be alright. Eventually.

By Wednesday morning they had an asteroid heading to Earth, capable of destroying every single life-form on it. Including Caity.

Once again she was asked to do the impossible. Once again she had no choice but to succeed. For Caity.

By Wednesday afternoon they were heading to Revanna, to hopefully save Earth once again. Save Caity.

By Thursday afternoon the cargo ship on Revanna was more or less flying again and they were heading back to Earth. To Caity.

xoxoxoxoxo

For the first three days Sam basically lived in the cargo ship's engine room to finish the last repairs and was at the same time keeping a close eye on the hyper drive. They just couldn't effort to lose it, because if they did, SG-1 wouldn't need to bother to get back to Earth, as there would be nothing left to get back to in the first place.

But by Monday morning Jack finally had enough.

"Good morning … Carter!" he said cheerfully while entering the engine room. "Sleep well?" he continued, knowing that she hadn't slept for more than an hour.

"Yeah. Sure," Sam replied with a slight sarcastic note in her voice.

Sighing, Jack started again on a more subdued tone, "Carter, why don't you take a break and get some sleep?"

"That won't be necessary, sir. I'm fine. And I need to be here to watch over the hyper drive," she replied defensively. Not that she'd be able to sleep anyway.

"I can stay here and I'll to wake you the second something changes. You can't go without sleep forever," he tried to reason.

"Sir, I really appreciate your offer but…"

"Ah!" he said holding up a hand, "It wasn't exactly an offer…"

"But, sir! I'm really not tired!"

"Carter." He only needed this one word.

"Yes sir," she replied defeated.

xoxoxoxoxo

And while Sam went to get some sleep, or at least _tried_ to get some sleep, Jake was about to start his first normal day at the SGC – or so he thought.

But as soon as he entered the lower levels of the SGC he knew something was wrong. Really wrong. When the first time he came here, the atmosphere was professional but yet more relaxed than on any Air Force base he lived on as a child, this time you could describe the atmosphere as being loaded with worry and anticipation. And anticipation of the bad kind at that.

This time, General Hammond didn't have time to talk to him. This time, there was no bantering and joking between the base personal. This time, Jake wasn't sure he wanted to know what was going on.

Of course nobody asked for his opinion, so after he was briefed on what was going on, he started to do what he was being paid for. He didn't have a choice anyway. And going by the bits and pieces he heard about SG-1 – and once people realised he didn't know anything, they told him all sorts of stories of them, as if that helped _them_ to keep their hopes up too – the members of SG-1 were they only chance they had left.

Later on, when he learned who exactly was on SG-1, he was both shocked and proud. Shocked about all the things his sister had to go through – and he was sure he only heard the tip of the iceberg – and proud of all his little sisters accomplishment. If the situation wouldn't have been so serious, he was sure he'd have started to walk around beaming with pride.

He managed to spent some time with Janet over lunch and she more or less confirmed all the stories he had heard – and added one or two of her own. So if Sam managed to blow up a sun, she'd surely be able to convince a not so little asteroid to bypass Earth, right? _He_ at least was sure of it – and it had nothing to do with Sam being his little sister. Not much anyway.

When he went home later that night, well to Sam's house anyway, he truly realised what it meant to work at the SGC. On the one side the work was more than interesting and challenging and everything he could ever have hoped for, but on the other side there was the knowledge. The knowledge that everything could end by Sunday and not being able to share it with his family. And going by the stories he heard today, now isn't by far the first time life on Earth, as he knew it anyway, was about to end. No wonder that Sam turned up looking like hell more than once, wanting to do nothing but cuddle with Caity, spending every single minute of the day with her.

That night, his respect for his little sister grew even more - and the respect for all those people working at the SGC, giving their lifes to defend their home without getting the recognition they should.

xoxoxoxoxo

At the same time, although light-years away, Sam resumed her silent watch over the hyper drive. This time Teal'c joined her, silently doing his kel'no'reem.

Wednesday came and though they spent the last days together, Sam still hadn't managed to have _The Talk_ with the guys. Sure, there wasn't much to do but to wait and hope they'd make it in time to the asteroid to destroy it, but Sam was far too wound up to start explaining herself. Also, why should she risk them getting mad at her if the reason for it might not even be alive in a weeks time, when they themselves might not be alive in a weeks time? No, now really was a bad time - or that was what she kept telling herself. So instead she kept her silent vigil on the hyper drive.

Having realised that Sam wouldn't leave the engine room if it wasn't absolutely necessary , Daniel, Teal'c or Jack started come by for some small-talk or just for silent company. After so many years together, they didn't need to talk all the time to be comfortable with each other. And by Wednesday night they had pretty much developed a daily routine that met all of their wishes and needs - like Daniel working on some translation or other, Teal'c doing kel'no'reem, Teal'c and Jack sparing, Sam needing to stay close to the hyper drive, or simply keeping each other company, playing card games, or even seeking silence.

And as usual, just when everything seemed to be going as smooth as it could, something happened. Only this time it was unbeknownst to SG-1.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Jake?" Janet called after him as he passed her on the way to the infirmary. Getting no reply, she called his name once again, only this time louder than before. "Jake, wait!"

Ever since Monday they had shared their lunch, simply to keep each other company and for Jake to update Janet on how the preparations for the impending evacuation to the Alpha Site were going. He was working under the CMO's supervision after all. But today he had missed lunch. So when she went back to the infirmary and saw him passing by, she called his name.

After the second time he finally heard her and stopped surprised. He was so distracted that he hadn't even realised he had just passed her. Turning around, he waited for Janet to catch up with him.

"Hey," he said almost inaudible, looking anywhere but at Janet.

"You missed lunch," Janet started slightly irritated. After all she arranged her schedule so they could meet, especially as she really needed an update before she went to a meeting with all the department heads and General Hammond this afternoon. But as soon as she caught sight of his face, or his eyes to be more precise, she stopped. Something was terribly wrong.

"Let's go to my office," she said seriously before giving him a slight push when he didn't start moving. Shock, she noted mentally.

Once they were inside her office, she closed the door, effectively telling everyone she didn't want to be disturbed. She carefully pushed Jake down into a chair, before sitting down opposite him. As he was just sitting there in a defeated posture, head hung low, she gently took one of his hands in hers and asked a question she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to.

"Jake, hey, what happened?"

It took a while before he finally started to talk quietly, and if Janet wouldn't have listened that closely, she might have missed it altogether.

"I just got a phone call from Jocelyn."

And then he replayed the talk he just had with his wife. Suddenly she understood the signs of a shock he showed, cause she felt just the same. The colour had long left her face when he finally finished and she felt dizzy too.

"Oh god, Janet. How am I going to tell Sam?"

"I don't know," she confessed quietly, wiping of the tears that had escaped her eyes.

"You know, just after Jocelyn told me, just for a second, I thought about how easy it would be if Sam and her team wouldn't be successful... " he admitted slowly.

Surprised by his admission, Janet was first shocked before she nodded slowly, "Yeah, I can see why."

"But knowing Sam's stubbornness, I'm sure that that asteroid stands no chance," he added smiling slightly, making Janet smile too.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Janet finally found the energy to think again. After asking for the last update she sent Jake home, telling him she'd take care of telling General Hammond. She also told him to call should they need any info she might be able to provide, and also silently asking to be kept up to date on that front.

Once Jake was gone, Janet removed the last traces of her tears before putting on her professional face, leaving for the meeting with General Hammond and the other department heads.

xoxoxoxoxo

Jake was right of course. A couple of days later his sister was indeed too stubborn to let this asteroid win. Especially after they found it to be a trap by the Goa'uld. If they couldn't destroy it, then they'd have to fly it through Earth. Piece of cake! So once again, SG-1 was there to safe the day – but who would safe them? The life support would last for another couple of hours, but after that…

Sam didn't know how to feel anymore. On the one side she was overjoyed of having saved Caity's life, but on the other side she felt sad that she wasn't going to see her grow up. And even worse, when she was about to die so far, she could be sure that Caity would have Susan and Aaron to look after her, to give her all the love she needed. But they were gone now and Caity was counting on Sam. True, her brother and his wife would look after Caity like she was their own child, but it wasn't the same as Susan and Aaron would have been. No, this time would be worse for Caity.

Feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, Sam moved slightly so that the Colonel who was sitting next to her on the floor wouldn't see them. She reached into one of her BDU's pockets and retrieved a picture of Caity. Well, actually it was one with both of them snuggled together in their rocking chair. Jake had made it when both were sleeping at one of her last visits and gave it to her when she had to leave again. She really loved this picture as Caity looked so peaceful in it.

Damn, she couldn't afford to die now! She had to get back to Earth! Ironically enough, there were closer to Earth than on any other mission they had so far. Well, apart from the first time they thought to have killed Apophis that is. And yet they couldn't make it back. Getting up angrily, Sam kicked the wall. Hard. This was so not fair! Ignoring the questioning look the Colonel gave her, she kicked again before sighing and sitting back down with closed eyes, silently telling everyone that she didn't want to talk.

It worked fine – for 5 minutes. Because then Daniel choose to come over and sit down on Sam's other side. While getting settled, his hand brushed something on the floor and being the curious being that he was, he looked down to see what it was – and gasped when he realised that he was looking at a picture of Sam sleeping peacefully with a little girl in her arms.

"Uhm, Sam? I think that's yours," he said before handing the picture over.

But before Sam could take it back, Jack leaned over to Daniel to have a look himself, snatching the picture from Daniel's hand.

"Sweet. Your niece?" he asked lightly, though he was sure that Sam's niece was blond and the little girl on the picture had dark hair.

Shaking her head, Sam closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall behind her. Well, it looked like she wouldn't get out of telling them now, because judging by the way the Colonel asked that question, he knew that this was _not_ her niece. And sure enough, Teal'c must have thought the same because Sam could hear him come over and sit down in front of them. Probably taking the picture to have a look himself. Then there was silence, maybe they wouldn't ask her anymore questions. They had other problems after all.

"Carter?"

Apparently not. Apparently her time was up.

"Sir?"

Maybe playing dumb would work.

"Carter."

Or not.

Sighing, Sam slowly opened her eyes, silently demanding the picture back from Teal'c. Taking her time to look at it some more, she finally replied.

"You're right. She's not my niece. Her name is Caitlin Hope Carter – and she is my daughter." There, she said it. Now she just had to remember to breath again. Then again, they were going to die anyway…

Silence. Absolute, utterly silence.

Teal'c was the first to break it. "Indeed. She bears a great resemblance to Jacob Carter."

To both Jacob Carters, Sam added mentally.

"When… how… Sam?" Daniel finally sputtered.

"That's complicated." Sam said almost defensively. "It won't matter now anyway."

"What? How can it not matter that you have a child? A child you haven't told us about! I thought we were friends!" Daniel said becoming more and more agitated.

Great. That was exactly why she didn't want to bring Caity up while they were on this mission. Or any mission for that matter. But now it was too late.

"Daniel." Jack stated calmly.

"What? Did _you_ now she had a daughter?" Daniel asked heatedly. "Where is she living anyway, or did you just shove her away so you could go on with your career?" he continued, looking straight at Sam.

"Yes she was staying with foster parents. But that doesn't mean I gave her away lightly, I just had no other choice!" Sam replied defensively.

"There is always another way!" Daniel all but shouted.

"Daniel!" This time the Colonel made it clear that he wanted Daniel to stop. And it wasn't a question, it was an order.

"Fine. Whatever." Daniel replied before storming off to the pilot's seat.

Bowing slightly, showing his silent support with it, Teal'c got up to look after his other friend as he was sure Colonel O'Neill would look after Major Carter.

Too afraid to look at her CO and of what he would think of her now, Sam kept on staring at the floor. After a couple of minutes of silence she felt his hand over her own, squeezing it lightly. Finally looking up at him, she could see a lot of emotions in his face – but none of it were anger or disdain. Giving him a teary smile, she silently promised to explain everything if they should get out of here. Accepting this with a small nod, he finally released her hand, getting comfortable on the floor once again.

Daniel was still angry and pouting when suddenly a voice could be heard over the communicators.

They were going home.

xoxoxoxoxo

On the short trip home, Sam was both physically and emotionally too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Fortunately they let her be.

By the time they arrived at the closest planet whose Stargate they could use, Sam was at least somewhat rested and could start to think more straight again. Unfortunately, Daniel still wasn't talking to her more than necessary and she knew she hurt him deeply. Well, his reaction was exactly what she had dreaded and she could only hope he'd understand once he learned the whole story. If he would listen to her in the first place. But now was not the time for it.

For the next hours they were busily helping to get the SGC up and running again. The last team to leave the base for the Alpha Site was the first one back as they held key positions within the SGC. But despite that everything that had been packed up and shipped out had to be brought back to where it was in the first place, the atmosphere around the SGC was back to cheerful. As long as you didn't came across Dr. Frasier. True, she worked efficiently and professionally, but if you knew her than you could also see that her thoughts were somewhere else. As soon as she came back to the SGC she had called Jake, telling him Sam would be heading home soon. Well, she would see to it anyway.

Seeing Sam for the first time a couple of hours later she could tell that she was emotionally drawn. And as she just passed Daniel she already guessed what was going on. Janet knew that General Hammond had dismissed them and they were free to leave the base. Trying to hide her own worry, Janet managed to convince Sam to go home instead of staying on base. It wasn't as hard as Janet anticipated, telling her just how much Daniel's reaction must have hurt her too. Sighing, Janet went back to work once Sam had left, hoping that Sam would be able survive this latest blow into her face.

Sam was glad to be finally home again. First she'd call Caity before taking a long hot shower and hopefully getting a full nights sleep. Maybe then she'd find a way to fix the problem with Daniel. But as soon as she saw her brother's car in her driveway she knew something was wrong. She didn't know how she knew it, she just did. Unfortunately, her fears were confirmed when she opened her door, meeting Jake halfway on the way to the living room. One look in his eyes and the tears started to form in her own eyes, not even knowing why she was crying.

Letting herself be dragged over to the couch, she sat down, both waiting for and fearing what Jake was going to tell her.

xoxoxoxoxo

Life was good. A bit over a week ago they had once again saved the planet from the Goa'uld and as result were given a whole week off. Well, they had to finish their paperwork, but after that they were free to go. Of course he choose Minnesota. A little fishing trip was the best way to celebrate a victory over the Goa'uld after all. The only thing bothering him was Sam. He hadn't seen or talked to her since the day they came back. Since the day they learned about her daughter.

Once his week off was over, he started to bug the Doc with it, but all she'd say was that Sam would be back later. Daniel wasn't much help either, he was still mad with Sam, though it really started to get ridiculous. The longer Sam was absent, the more Daniel wound up about everything. Well, at least Teal'c seemed to be his stoic self, waiting for more information before he took any side. Maybe he should invite Daniel and Teal'c over soon, so they could talk about it. Okay, so they could calm Daniel down. Or maybe they could just punch some common sense into him.

But not today, today he was going to do nothing but relax in front of a hockey game. Beer in one hand … and beer in the other and no impending Goa'uld attack to worry about. At least not tonight.

He was just about ready to sit down in front of his TV when he heard it. Someone was on his roof. Crap. Grabbing his weapon, he stealthily went outside to cautiously climb up the ladder to his roof. There, standing with the back to him, was the last person he expected to see tonight.

Sam.

He'd have recognised her silhouette everywhere. Only this time her head hung low, her arms were tightly wrapped around her as if she was hugging herself and her shoulder shook slightly as if she was crying. But what worried and scared him the most was that her whole posture screamed of pain, and that he had never seen her that utterly defeated before. Not after Jolinar, not after Martouf or the Entity. And it broke his heart.

"Sam." Not Carter. Not Major. But Sam.

Finally she turned and her eyes reflected all the pain in the world and something else.

Something he had once seen in Sara's eyes.

Something he had once seen in his own eyes.

Something he had hoped he'd never have to see again. His throat suddenly became dry, anticipating Sam's next words.

"How did you survive Charly? How?"

_

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry, but I won't be around for the next couple of days (And if you think I'm hiding then you're wrong… or not ). However, if you want to comment on the chapter, Muse will be available by pushing the little button down there. I'm sure she'll be happily hit by anything that you might want to throw at her… don't hold back! LOL_

_Anyway, thanks again to all those who reviewed so far… and those who I'm sure will push that little tempting button eventually. You know you can't hold back much longer ;-)!_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Jack felt like the time had stopped. His body was frozen on the spot. He couldn't move, he couldn't talk, he couldn't think.

_"How did you survive Charly? How?" _was the only thing on his mind, the question repeating itself over and over again.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but were only mere minutes, his body started to function again. Never loosing eye contact with Sam, he moved towards her, once again taking in the deep despair and unshed tears in her eyes. As soon as he was close enough to reach out for her, he simply opened up his arms to enfold her in his embrace, to hold her.

He felt both her hands gripping the front of his shirt tightly before she buried her head in his shoulder, letting out all the despair he'd seen in her eyes in a loud wail. As soon as the wail left her mouth he could feel her legs giving out under her, while her tears started to flow freely with her body shaking violently in his arms. Knowing he wouldn't be able to keep her upright much longer, he slowly guided both of them into a sitting position, using the parapet around his look-out as backrest.

With Sam shaking violently in his lap, all he could do was to hold her as tight as possible - and even then Sam tried to move closer. So using one hand to gently hold her head while the other was moving in slow comforting circles on her back, he whispered over and over again, "I'm here Sam, I'm here."

With time, the shaking became less and less, though Sam was still crying and didn't seemed to be going to stop soon. And as it was getting quite chilly outside, Jack reached over to the weatherproof box next to him to retrieve the blanket he kept in there. Once he managed to wrap it safely around both of them, he resumed the gentle stroking of Sam's back, while wondering what the hell happened to cause this complete break-down. Well, going by what she said earlier, he had to assume that Caity must be dead. Another innocent soul that wasn't allowed to grow up. Another innocent soul lost.

With Sam still crying in his arms, he finally surrendered to his own tears. Tears for Charly and tears for Caity, a little girl he never had the pleasure to meet. Tears, that were usually confined to his eyes. Tears, that were usually not allowed to be seen – not even by himself. But tonight was different. Tonight he couldn't, and if he was honest, didn't want to stop the tears from escaping and so he silently let them fall along with Sam's for a while.

He didn't know how long they were sitting like that, but finally Sam's tears stopped and she started to relax in his arms, finally easing the tight grip she still had on his shirt. Waiting to see if she would break the silence, he simply kept on occasionally rubbing her back.

"Thanks," Sam finally said almost inaudible.

Hating himself for having to ask but not being able to contain his need to know any longer, he asked just as quiet, "Caity?"

Sighing, Sam slowly shook her head against his shoulder. "No, she is fine."

"Huh?" he asked confused. What the hell? Not Caity? After all what happened tonight, he thought that Caity must be dead, that Sam was so desperate and that she broke down because she lost her child. But right now she said Caity was alright. This didn't made any sense at all! Unless…

"Sam?" he continued gently, understandingly, "What happened?"

He could hear her taking a shaky breath before she finally answered just as quietly as before, "Today was the funeral of David, my son."

_My son._ Once again time stopped for Jack, if only for a few seconds. His hand stopped the almost subconscious movement across her back, causing Sam to press even tighter into Jack's shoulder - right now she needed all the contact she could get, contact that told her she could survive the pain. Jack didn't think about his reaction to that, he simply pressed a kiss on the top of her head before putting his own head there, silently giving her all the comfort he could.

xoxoxoxoxo

There, she said it. Said the dreaded words out lout. Told it Jack, but not her CO. No, tonight he wasn't her CO. Tonight he was Jack, her lifeline. Tonight he was Jack, who knew what it meant to loose a child, to loose a son. Tonight he was Jack, who knew how to survive the pain.

She could barely remember how she got here, other than that she came directly after the funeral. She also hardly remembered Caity's tears when they laid her brother to rest. Or Caity putting Mr. Bunny on the coffin, telling David that she watched over Mr. Bunny while he was away, but now it was time for Mr. Bunny to go back to David, so he wouldn't be lonely. Or Janet being there. Or Cassie. Truth be told, she could barely remember anything that happened since they came back from that asteroid. It was like the whole time her body was running on auto-pilot, feelings and everything else pushed somewhere deep inside where no-one would find them. Not even Sam herself.

But once she was on his roof, everything came back to her - all the hidden feelings assaulting her at once. She was sure she'd be dying of the pain but then he was there, taking her in his arms, becoming her lifeline and she let herself fall, being sure he'd catch her. And catch her he did. And now for the first time since the asteroid and the events taking place afterwards, she truly felt like she might be able to survive the pain, to feel something else, eventually.

Finally, after spending a reasonable time in comfortable silence, Sam found the strength to move again. Though there was no way she was leaving just yet, she moved off his lap to sit next to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder once again. After another couple of minutes of silence she asked, "Have you met the new microbiologist Janet hired?"

"What?" he asked confused. Why did Sam wanted to know that of all things? And how did she know about him in the first place?

"The new microbiologist at the SGC, have you met him?" Sam asked again patiently.

"Yeah, Janet introduced us to him over lunch, nice guy" he replied, before adding curiously, "Why do you ask? Do you know him?"

Nodding, Sam finally answered, "Yeah, Jake is my big brother."

"What?" Jack ask a bit too loud, before continuing, "Sorry. Another Carter at the SGC. Wow."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Soo… you wanna talk about it?" Jake finally ask gently, leaving it to Sam to decide what he meant by _'it'_. Feeling her nod against his shoulder, he moved his hand over to were Sam's was lying on her leg, squeezing it comfortingly. And after several minutes of silence, Sam finally started to talk.

"Jake is the oldest of us kids, he was always very close to mom, helping her when dad wasn't around and was therefore very close to her. After her funeral, he and dad had a big fight and he left. Just like that. I was pretty mad at him cause I always looked up at him and then he just left me. He started to write regularly a year or so later, but I was still so mad at him that I just sent his letters back. But no matter how often we moved, his letters would always have the correct address on them and at some point I stopped sending them back. I finished high school early, went to the Air Force Academy and still his letters would be waiting for me. Even though I didn't realise it then, they've always been a constant in my life, giving comfort even though I was too stubborn to read them."

Okay, so she was talking about her brother now, Jack thought. And he couldn't fault her for not wanting to talk about her son. Hell, he'd probably never had mentioned Charlie if it wasn't for those blue crystal thingies! So he could understand her only too good. Squeezing her hand again, he waited for her to continue.

"A couple of month before I finished at the Academy I realised I was pregnant. I met the father a year earlier, he was a bit older and by the time I found out about the baby he just had left for his first Special Forces mission. I didn't know what to do, but finally had no choice but to tell my superior officers. So I went to the Commander of the Academy, telling him I was pregnant and asking if there was a way for me to work on my PhD-thesis first before joining the Specialised Undergraduate Pilot Training program. Well, I guess I pushed all the right buttons, using the knowledge that the Commander wasn't too fond of my dad and so he finally agreed, believing it to be a way to get back at dad. I was 4 month pregnant when I graduated but non of my class mates knew about it."

Waiting for Jack to catch up with everything she just told him, she finally continued, drawing strength from his hand that never had left hers after their initial contact.

"So I went to Boston to work on some experiments at the MIT, helping my PhD thesis along. But the MIT wasn't the only reason for me to choose Boston. I also knew that Jake was living there now and his place was the first I went to after arriving in Boston. He didn't ask any question, he just took me in his arms and told me everything would be alright. He had married a couple of years before and he and his wife Jocelyn helped me a lot throughout the pregnancy, even though they had enough trouble with their own son, and Jake was with me when David was born. I stayed in Boston until David was about 6 month old, before I finally left for flight school. Fortunately, Jocelyn had some friends close to the base who had a small apartment for rent. They also had small children themselves and didn't mind looking after David while I was at school."

"When David was a couple of month old, his dad turned up again. I never wondered how he found me, but was happy when he showed an interest in his son. He still was away a lot but helped whenever he had time off. And he adored David, it was fun watching them together. We might not have been a couple anymore, but I think that was the best time we ever had together. Throughout flight school and the following specialised flight training I managed to keep David with me. It might have been stressful at times, but it was well worth it." Sam continued her story, smiling at the memories of these happy times.

Wow, was all Jack could think. He knew Sam was an amazing women, but he never imagined her going through all those long training hours with a little kid to look after! She must have gone with almost no sleep the entire time and still she succeeded in all she did. He had seen her records after all, and she had always been in the top of her class. Yet, non of the records he'd seen mentioned her son. And neither had Jacob. Could it be that he never knew about him? But before he could ponder this question, Sam continued with her story.

"The hardest part was leaving David behind when I was deployed during the first Gulf War. At least I knew he was fine with Jake and his family, but I still missed him every single day I spent overseas. As soon as I came back I was sent to Colorado Springs to join NORAD, and a couple of month later I was recruited by Catherine Langford – and I loved it. David was 4 by then and we were happy. His dad and I decided to give our relationship another go and everything was fine. But about 18 month later things changed. Well, Jonas started to change after another mission had gone wrong – badly. It was slowly at first but after a couple of month he started to hit me. He was still the devoting dad to David but I was scared he'd hurt him eventually, no matter how unintentionally it might be. And I couldn't risk it. So I asked Catherine if she could help me to get reassign within the Stargate-Project. It took less than a month, a month Jonas was away on another mission, until I got the reassignment to the Pentagon."

Sam stopped at that, and Jack knew instantly that this was were it got really bad. Hugging her closer, he silently asked for her to continue. Taking a deep shaky breath, Sam did just that. Now that she started with her story, she couldn't and didn't want to stop.

"When I came home after my last day at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, David, now 6 years old, was gone. According to his babysitter, one second he was playing in the front-yard and the next he was gone. Apparently no-one had seen anything or anyone and the Police stopped searching pretty soon. All in all it was pretty strange and shady and the Police never told me anything about their findings. That's when I started to suspect Jonas. Strangely enough, an old lady had seen him the day David vanished but changed her statement a few days later. When I went to ask her about it, she didn't want to say anything, but I could see that she was scared. To death. So my suspicion grew but I couldn't do anything about it. Jones had too many friends in the right places, there was just no way I could prove he _was_ in the country when David vanished and not on a mission like he said."

Once again, tears started to roll down Sam's face, but she didn't even seem to realise that. And after a short break, she started again.

"The second I arrived in Washington I kept looking for David. Jake came over to help, and we finally hired a private investigator. Still there was no trace of David. The weeks went by and I became more and more depressive, until I found out I was pregnant again. Then I really got scared. By now I was pretty sure Jonas was behind David's disappearance and I was scared of what he was going to do when he found out about the baby. And I couldn't loose another child, I just couldn't. So Jake, Catherine and I searched for a way to keep my baby safe."

And then she told him about the Carter's and the fake adoption, like she had told General Hammond only a few weeks ago. Once she finished, she was emotionally exhausted, but couldn't stop now. Not before she told him the rest of the story, so she continued quietly.

"Jake waited for me after we came back from the asteroid. The second I saw him, I knew something was terrible wrong. He told me, that while I was away, David's body was found up north in Alaska. Well, a boy's body was found and due to the climate conditions they were able to do a DNA-analysis to possibly identify him over several missed children databases. David's DNA was in one of those and that's how they identified him. They called the private investigator we hired all those years ago and he contacted Jake. According to the…"

At that point a sob escaped Sam and she couldn't continue.

"Shh, it's okay. You don't have to continue," Jack whispered to her, while hugging her closer.

"But… but I have to," Sam finally managed to say.

"According to the coroner David must have died within a week after he vanished. They also found a letter with him, stating that _'Daddy was so sorry, he didn't meant to hurt you. He loves you very much.' _. Going by that, the police assumes David's death was an accident or Jonas killed him in affect. But the outcome is still the same. My little boy is dead."

And this time she started to cry again.

All Jack wanted to do right now was going to beat the crap out of Jonas for what he did to Sam, for what he did to his own son. Unfortunately, he was long dead. So all Jack could do now was to give Sam all the support he could, to comfort her even though no matter what he did he couldn't bring her son back, couldn't erase the pain of that loss.

Angrily removing the tears from her face, Sam continued.

"Jake and I flew to were they brought David for the investigations. I just couldn't stay here and wait for more news, I needed to be with my son. This morning I brought him back and then we buried him. Buried my son… ."

Not being able to contain the tears any longer, Sam just let them fall, wishing they would take the pain with them. But they didn't.

"It's okay Sam. It's okay." Jack repeated over and over again, once again pulling her on his lap and gently rubbing her back.

After what seemed like hours, Sam started to speak again. But when her voice was quiet before, this time she sounded angry.

"Why does it have to hurt so much? I mean, deep down, I knew David was dead the second I met Jonas at the SGC. I could see it in his eyes. And I cried for him, mourned him. So why won't it stop hurting?"

"Because no matter what your mind told you, your heart never wanted to believe. It wouldn't – couldn't - give up hope. But now it has no choice. Now you buried David. You buried you son and you have every right in the world to feel like you do," Jack replied sincerely, his own heart breaking at seeing Sam in so much pain.

And while they were sitting there on his roof at night, Sam once again holding onto him for dear life, he vowed to help her in every way he could. He vowed to do anything to ease her pain.

And he'd start by talking to Sam's brother, Jake. Because after all she told him today he knew they'd have the same goal. To make Sam smile again.

_

* * *

A/N: Wow, that was really hard to write. I hope I didn't overdo it, I hope it didn't get too sentimental. And I hope those explanations make some sort of sense. If not, it's almost 1:30 a.m. … and I'm already fast asleep… __Anyway, how could you think I would kill off Caity? How is she supposed to meet Jack and the rest of SG-1 if she was dead? shakes head Really, even if you don't trust Muse, have at least a little faith in me! LOL! __BTW, after each chapter I seem to have lots of commas left… so if anyone needs them, just give me a shout. LOL._

_Last but not least – THANKS for all those reviews on the last chapter! Looks like I have to kill someone to get a lot of those! thinks… Isn't Meridian around the corner? Anyway, please don't forget to review this chapter too … because you know, once you started reviewing you are addicted to it, even if you won't realise it yet! _


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

When Sam finally calmed down again, Jack gently nudged her to get up. Not that he was tired of holding her, far from it, but both his legs were asleep by now and it was getting chilly – despite the blanket and the shared body heat.

"Sam? Do you think you can get up? It's getting kinda chilly and we better get inside," Jack asked softly, he didn't want to startle her after all.

Nodding, Sam stood up from his lap and more out of habit than anything else held her hand out to help him up too. Upon hearing him groan once he was standing, Sam guiltily looked up at him, but was stopped from saying anything by Jack's upheld hand.

"Hey, Sam, it's okay. My legs just fell asleep, that's all," he reassured her.

Slowly making his way over to his ladder, he watched Sam carefully for any signs that she wouldn't be able to make it down without difficulties. Satisfied that Sam was walking just fine, he motioned for her to get down first – his legs still felt somewhat funny after all.

Once safely inside, Jack ushered Sam into his kitchen and poured both of them some water – without switching any light on. It was a clear night and the moon was almost full, giving enough light to safely find their way around the house. A glance at his watch told him it was just past 3 a.m., meaning they spent more than 6 hours on his roof. Mentally shaking his head, he took one glance at Sam who was standing forlornly in the middle of his kitchen and decided it was definitely time for bed – and there was no way he'd sent Sam home now.

"Sam? Come on, lets head to bed," he said gently, motioning in the general direction of the door.

Nodding, Sam simply followed Jack, as it was the only thing she could manage right now. It didn't involve any thinking and she instinctively trusted Jack to take care of her.

Once they reached his guest room, Jack looked over at Sam and decided that there was no way he would leave her alone now. So instead of opening the door, he started to walk again, leading Sam into his bedroom. After giving Sam something to sleep in, he gestured to the adjoining bathroom, "Why don't you get changed while I go downstairs and lock the doors?"

Seeing Sam move into the general direction of the bathroom, he turned and went downstairs to check his answering machine, thinking the frantically blinking light might have something to do with Sam. He only had two messages – and both were from Janet Frasier. The first one was asking if he had seen Sam and to call her back if he had, and the second more urgent and asking to call her back whenever he got her message. So despite the late, or better the very early hour, he dialled Frasier's number.

"What?" answered a tired voice after only the third ring.

"Hey Doc."

"Colonel?" Janet replied wide awake now. "Sam?"

"Yeah. We were outside until a couple of minutes ago." Jack replied quietly.

"How is she doing?" Janet asked concerned.

"Peachy, just peachy," Jack replied sarcastically before continuing tiredly, "Sorry Doc, it has been a long evening."

Janet could practically _see_ Jack tiredly rubbing a hand over his face, something she had seen him doing repeatedly whenever a member of SG-1 was unconscious in her infirmary and he spent the night, sitting at their bedside.

"Yeah, I know. Actually, I'm glad she is with you. She vanished after the funeral, and though I guessed were she might go we were still worried. Add to that that she didn't show any emotion whatsoever since her brother told her everything, which is _so_ not like Sam at all … and well, all of us were _really_ concerned."

"Well, I guess you can scratch the emotion thingy from your list," Jack replied.

"So she finally cried over her son," Janet answered sounding relieved.

"I guess 'she broke down completely' is a better description. Compared to today, she was in a pretty good shape after Jolinar."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Jack said quietly. "Uhm Doc, I better get back to her. She finally calmed down and she's doing better now, I think. Still, I don't want to leave her alone for too long."

"Okay. I'm going to call Jake now. You might want to be prepared to get some early visitors though, Caity was pretty anxious when her mom wasn't back by bedtime."

"That's fine. There should even be a spare key to my house at Sam's place…" he offered. He knew little kids weren't always reasonable and Caity might just decide she needed her mom rather sooner than later.

"Good. And Jack … thank you." Janet replied seriously before putting the phone down. She rarely called him Jack, and when she did, than she really meant it. But now she had to make another phone call, telling Jake that Sam was indeed where she guessed she was and though she was not fine, she was safe.

Acknowledging her last words for what they meant, Jack put his phone down too and headed back to his bedroom.

xoxoxoxoxo

Jack woke up to someone trying to open his front door. Realising that that someone must be using a key, he slightly relaxed, hoping it was Janet using Sam's key to his house. Not that he'd be able to move anyway - Sam's head was lying heavily on his chest, tucked safely under his chin, and one of her hands had a very strong grip on his T-shirt. At least she was sleeping more or less peacefully now.

A glance at his bedside watch told him it was barely 5 a.m., and the slight knock on his bedroom door followed by Janet's head appearing soon after confirmed his earlier suspicions about the intruder.

"Morning," he whispered, while motioning towards Sam's sleeping form.

Seeing Sam more or less sleeping on Jack, Janet couldn't help but smile. Then she remembered why she was here in the first place and so she turned around to face Jake and Caity. The little girl, clutching tightly at her polar bear Mr. Fluffy, was still in her pj's and safely in her uncle's arm – but she also was pretty grumpy and whining that she wanted her mommy.

After all, all she wanted to do was to be with her mommy, snuggling close, but her mommy wasn't even home when she woke up! So she decided she had every right to be grumpy and wake her uncle, he usually knew where her mommy was! And he did. So when she finally saw her mommy all she wanted to do was to go to her – and go back to sleep. But first she had to get out of her Uncle Jake's arm, so she started struggling.

"Shh, Caity, mommy is sleeping. We don't want to wake her up, okay?" he tried to sooth her.

But Caity was too tired to care about anything, she just whimpered and kept on struggling.

Seeing the little girl's distress, Jack simply pulled the bed covers back slightly, silently telling Jake to put the little girl down. Making eye contact with Jack as if holding a silent conversation, Jake finally put his whimpering niece on the bed. She hadn't quite hit the mattress when she started moving towards Jack and her mommy, wiggling her way under the covers and simply plopping down on Jack's chest on his free side. Sighing, she made sure Mr. Fluffy was still safely tucked under her arm, put her hand on her mommy's causing it to relax immediately – and was fast asleep within minutes.

Taken completely off-guard by the little girls behaviour, Jack finally raised his eye-brows questioningly at both Jack and Janet who were still standing next to his bed – and made him feel quite self-conscious. Janet couldn't help but smirk once again, while Jake simply shrugged with his shoulders.

"I'm so not going to wake her up again," Jake eventually said, trying to hide the smile tucking at his lips. After all, two of his favourite girls were sleeping quite peacefully in front of him – despite the circumstances. So _he_ could live with the current situation pretty good!

Sighing, Jack agreed. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't _that_ uncomfortable…

"Make yourself at home. You can crash in the guest room or the couch, wherever you want. You too, Doc." Jack said quietly.

After both Jake and Janet left his bedroom, he found himself assaulted by a lot of different feelings. He was sleeping alone for quite some time now and now he suddenly had to bodies pressed close to him. Well, when Cassie first came to Earth and he was babysitting her, she occasionally came to him after she had another nightmare. But apart from that, the last child that slept in his bed, in his arms, was Charlie. And yet, he wasn't overcome with that all-consuming pain and guilt he had lived with all those years. It was like Sam's breakdown, mingled with his own tears, had helped him more than he could ever have imagined.

Still amazed by this realisation, Jack too fell into a fitful and peaceful sleep… that was far too soon interrupted by the sound of his alarm clock. Crap. 3 hours of sleep per night are definitely not enough. Not for him anyway. Moving as fast as possible he switched the alarm off, hoping his two companions weren't awakened by it.

No such luck, cause when he looked down, he was met by a pair of blue eyes. A pair of very confused blue eyes.

"Hey," he said softly, as the third occupant of his bed was still sleeping. Anticipating the next question, he continued quietly, "I called Janet when we came back in, after she left a message on the answering machine. She told your brother where you are and a while later the little lady here decided she wanted her mommy. Now. Even if it was in the middle of the night," Jack finished smiling slightly. Caity was still in the same position as when she so unceremoniously plopped down on him, if not even huddled a bit closer.

"Oh!" she whispered, still slightly confused - well, she definitely wasn't a morning person. Add last nights breakdown and the little sleep they got after that and she was still both physically and emotionally spent.

Realising this too, Jack suggested, "Why don't you and the little munchkin try to get some more sleep?"

Sensing Sam indecision, he grinned while pointing at the still sound asleep Caity, "See? Caity agrees with me. She must be a bright little girl, probably has it from her mom…"

This finally got him a small smile from Sam, causing Jack to grin even more. After all, this was the first time since he found her on his roof that she showed even the smallest of smiles. If Sam would have been more herself, something which nobody expected her to be under the circumstances of course, she probably would have protested and insisted on getting up too. But now, she just nodded her consent, thankful for another chance to catch up on endless hours of missed sleep. Sighing almost inaudible, Sam put her head back down on Jack's chest, closing her eyes again.

Realising that he would have to move both Sam and Caity before he would be able to get up, he gently rubbed Sam's back, trying to get her attention once more.

"Uhm, Sam? I kinda have to get up, so why don't you move over a bit and I'll hand Caity over to you after that?" Jack said, a hint of a blush visible on his face.

"Uh… Oh! Sorry!" came the reply when she finally processed what he just said.

Reluctantly leaving the warm spot on Jack's side she moved over, making some room for her daughter. Jack, suddenly acutely aware of the slight chill in his bedroom, carefully lifted Caity up while making sure she still had her polar bear in her arm, and gently put her down next to Sam. Feeling robbed of the nice warm spot she was just occupying, Caity started to whimper, but calmed as soon as Sam snuggled up close to her, taking her in her arms.

Sighing, as there was no more reason for him to stay in bed, Jack got up and, after making sure both remaining occupants of his bed were safely tucked in, got some clothes and went to his bathroom. When he was finished, he was glad to see both Sam and Caity were fast asleep, so he quietly closed his bedroom door and left for the kitchen.

xoxoxoxoxo

Apparently he wasn't the first one up, as both Jake and Janet Frasier were sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning," Jack greeted them, not even considering it the slightest bit odd to have the Doc and Sam's brother sitting in his kitchen. A brother who he didn't even knew existed until last night and yet there he was like he belonged here. After getting some coffee himself, he went over to sit next to them.

"So… " he started, "Sam's brother, huh?"

"Yep."

"At the SGC."

"Yep."

"Wow."

"Yep."

Silence. Okay, _now_ it got a bit awkward.

"Is Sam still sleeping?" Janet asked after a couple of minutes, taken pity on both of them – but only _after_ she enjoyed the little show evolving in front of her for a while.

"Yes!" Jack replied almost a bit too enthusiastically, before continuing more calmly, "She woke when my alarm went off, but went back to sleep soon after. Caity didn't even wake at all though."

"Good. I know she hadn't had much sleep those last days, so she needs a good nights sleep. And Caity too for that matter." Jake replied relieved.

"So…" Jack started again. But this time Janet knew exactly what he wanted to know, so she replied immediately.

"I'm having today off, so if you don't mind I'd like to stay here and let both Caity and Sam wake up on their own accord."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack answered.

"Good, because you'll be late for work if you two aren't going to leave now," Janet replied, making shooing motions with her hands.

"But what…" Jack started, while Jake finished, "about breakfast?"

Oh dear, Janet thought, looking unbelieving from Jack to Jake and back. This just didn't happen now, right? And of course both of them shrugged their shoulders, looking innocently back at her. Rolling her eyes at them, she just said, "There's always the commissary. Now go!"

Once they left, Janet went to check on Sam and Caity, before calling home to make sure Cassie wasn't late for school. After that she crashed on the couch to get some more sleep, cause her night hadn't been that long either.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Do you mind giving me a lift? I came with Sam's car, so she is mobile to take Caity around." Jake asked once the closed the front door behind them.

"Sure," replied Jack, motioning towards the passenger door.

The first couple of minutes of the drive to Cheyenne Mountain were spent in silence. Jack pretended on concentrating on driving, while Jake pretended to be fascinated by the landscape flying by.

Finally Jack remembered something from the night before, a thought that had suddenly entered his mind but was gone just as fast as he had other things to worry about right then. Hesitating because he knew it was a very difficult topic, he finally just blurted his question out.

"Does Jacob know about the kids?"

Okay, that wasn't how he imagined to ask his question, but he couldn't change it know. Instead he glanced over at Jake, waiting for his reaction – and flinching slightly at the expression on his face. Right, this was probably the worst topic to start with. But he couldn't change it now, so he waited for an answer.

"No."

Just like that. No.

"Well, we're not sure about Caity. I guess Sam told you about the faked adoption?" Jake asked a minute later. After receiving a confirming nod from Jack, he continued. "Uncle George isn't sure if Jacob knows about the adoption, so we don't know about that one. But we're pretty sure about David. For that matter, I think even Mark doesn't know about David."

"Oh," Jack replied. "Uncle George?" he added after a while.

"Yep," Jake answered, shrugging his shoulders. "He and Jacob were stationed at the same base when Sam and Mark were toddlers. He and his family came over quite often, and I, being several years older than my siblings, remembered him quite well of course. After we moved to different bases, those visits became rare, but he still would come by now and then. And he always had some little presents for us," he remembered fondly.

"Aah," Jack said as if this would explain a lot of things. Well, it did in a way. He always assumed, Sam knew General Hammond from before she joined the SGC, which of course wasn't difficult to guess with him and Jacob being old buddies. Jack just never knew how good they knew each other, how close their families were.

Thinking about General Hammond brought another question up though.

"Does General Hammond know about David now?"

"No," Jake replied sadly. "But I'm going to talk to him today. He was very generous with the family leave for both Sam and me, but he obviously can't relieve Sam of her duties any longer if he doesn't know what is going on."

"You know, if you need some help…" Jack offered quietly, knowing Jake was right.

"Thanks," Jake replied seriously. "But I guess it's something I have to do alone."

Nodding his understanding, Jake kept on driving while silence took over once again. A couple of minutes before the reached Cheyenne Mountain, Jack tried to lift the mood in the car again, even if some might accuse him of just being curious of Jake's answer.

"So, how do you like our humble corner of the world?"

"Well, all I can say is 'Wow!'" Jake replied chuckling.

"Wow?"

"Yes! I mean, ever since Sam was a little kid she told me over and over again she was going to go into space. I mean, people usually said 'sure you are', though they never really believed it. Not until much later anyway. And then I suddenly learn that my little sister is doing just that for the last 5 years! It's absolutely amazing!" Jake replied enthusiastically. "Well apart from those nasty Replicator bugs, Goa'uld and other mean beings out there of course," he added more subdued.

"Yeah, life would be far too easy without those snakeheads and little bugs," Jack replied flippantly, just before they entered the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

If the guards were curious about the two men arriving in one car, they didn't show it. Colonel O'Neill was well respected after all, and if he was willing to drive with that civilian, than he must be alright too. Filing that info away for later use, it wouldn't hurt to be friendly to friends of O'Neill, this man was a legend after all, they let the car pass.

One thing was for sure, Jack definitely liked Sam's brother. He was looking out for her, and always had been, and he'd obviously do anything for his sister. This of course was worth a lot in Jack's books. True, he was another scientist – and despite the name, a Carter at that, and probably stubborn too – but he could manage Daniel and Carter, so why not Jake too? And one thing was for sure, sooner or later he would meet his father, and that alone promised to become a very interesting occasion.

So soon after they entered the second elevator, and the silence became overbearing once again, Jack looked over at Jake, asking the so far most important question of the day…

"Commissary?"

"Yep."

"Commissary it is."

_

* * *

A/N: Once again I must have been kidnapped by those X-Files aliens, you know the ones were you always loose time without remembering what happened? Cause for some reason it's almost 2 a.m. again – and I love to sleep! Or maybe it's just the Muse's doing again. So any mistakes are by no means mine, but hers! _

_To all those who reviewed I can only say THANKS A LOT! Those reviews really make my day and help me over the weekends of writing up RL-stuff. Which of course goes far slower than writing this story. Anyway, please continue to share your thoughts, it really helps a lot. You actually have me finally convinced that this little story of mine isn't so bad after all :) !_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Next time Janet was aware of her surroundings again it was well past 10 a.m. – meaning she had managed to get a few hours of sleep since Jack and Jake left for the SGC. Seeing neither Sam nor Caity around, she decided to freshen up a bit and check on Sam and Caity afterwards.

Once she left the guest bathroom, Janet carefully opened the door to Jack's bedroom and looked inside. Caity was wide awake, big blue eyes looking straight at Janet once she completely entered the room. Caity was lying on her mothers chest, in pretty much the same position Janet found Sam in with Jack this morning. Smiling slightly, Caity moved one of her hands, silently waving at Janet.

"Hey," Janet whispered. "Sleep well?"

"Uh huh," Caity replied nodding slightly, before pressing her index finger on her mouth. "Mommy is still sleeping!"

"Yeah," Janet, who had carefully sat down on the bed, answered. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and see if we can find something for breakfast? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry!" And it wasn't even a lie, as Janet was indeed very hungry.

Biting down on her lower lip, Caity thought about this. On the one side she was hungry too, but she also was pretty comfortable right now and didn't want to leave her mommy alone. Finally she just looked up at Janet and shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't know what to do.

"Ah, I guess it's pretty comfy in your spot, huh?" Janet asked smiling.

"Uh huh," Caity replied grinning back at her.

"Well… I guess I have to go breakfast hunting on my own then…" Janet replied, sighing theatrically. Seeing Caity's eyebrows furrowing in concentration, she added more seriously, "I know you don't want to leave, but I also happen to know that you are quite hungry – I am too for that matter. And you can always come back and check on your mommy, we wouldn't want to miss her waking up, now, would we?"

Looking back and forth between her mommy and her Aunty Janet, trying to make a decision, her tummy finally took the decision out of her hand as it started to rumble loudly.

"Oops," she said giggling, before clapping her hand over her mouth – she didn't want to wake her mommy after all!

Getting up from the spot she was sitting at, Janet waited while Caity carefully untangled herself from Sam. After putting Mr. Fluffy into the spot she just vacated, Caity safely tucked the blanket around Sam, before walking around the bed and taking the hand Janet offered.

Now that she was up and about she really, _really_ wanted to eat something! Her tummy wouldn't even stop rumbling by now! So after a short, but much needed, stop at the bathroom she happily skipped alongside Janet into the kitchen. Shaking her head at the little girls antics, Janet started to rummage first through the fridge and then through all the cupboards – and came up with a pathetic amount of eatable food. She'd really have to have a word with the Colonel about his eating habits!

"Today is Wednesday," Caity stated matter of factly, while eying the food Janet had found during her breakfast hunt. There was some orange juice, milk, Fruit loops, peanut butter, a jar of jelly and a few not so good looking slices of toast. She definitely wasn't going to eat those, they looked absolutely yucky!

"I know," Janet replied confused, while trying to decide what to eat. Well, those slices of toast looked like they should have been eaten a long time ago and she wasn't sure she wanted to risk eating them, let alone give them to Caity. Although by the way she eyed said toast, Janet was sure both of them were thinking along the same lines here.

"So it's not Sunday," Caity continued, bringing Janet out of her musings – only to confuse her further of course.

"Yes, you already said it was Wednesday," Janet was more than confused now. "So…?" she continued questioningly.

"I'm only allowed to have Fruit loops on Sundays. Because they have too much sugar," Caity explained patiently, "And the toast looks yucky!" she added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, you're right about the toast. Let's toss it right away," Janet replied before doing just that. "So, I take it you like Fruit loops?" she added smiling.

"YEAH! They are the best breakfast in the world!"

"I see," Janet replied chuckling at the girls enthusiasm. "Do you think it'd be okay if we make an exception to the only-on-Sundays rule and have them for breakfast?"

"YAY!" Caity replied, happily jumping up and down.

Chuckling, Janet made both of them a bowl of Fruit loops, before getting both of them seated at the kitchen table.

"So, how about some grocery shopping? This kitchen surely needs some healthy food!" Janet asked cheerfully.

Seeing Caity's eyes first lighting up with excitement before they became far too serious for a kid her age, Janet continued immediately, "We won't be long, Caity. Though I'm sure your mommy won't wake up before we're back, we'll write a note and leave it where she'll see it as soon as she wakes up. How about that?"

"Mommy is really tired, isn't she?" Caity asked thoughtfully. Seeing her Aunty Janet nod, she continued, "And we'll be really fast?"

"I promise."

Sighing, Caity finally agreed. She wouldn't let Janet write the note to her mommy though, no, that was her job – she was a big girl after all!

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Jack was sitting in his office, playing with his yo-yo. Well, he was supposed to do some paperwork but couldn't really concentrate on it as he knew Jake was talking to General Hammond right now. Sighing, he thought back to this morning. He had breakfast with Jake in the commissary, thinking about the best way to help Sam. After all, they both knew her pretty well, even if from different points of view. Though in the end, this turned out to be pretty helpful in planning the next steps.

It quite fast became obvious that Sam probably would want some time alone to think things through. Of course, letting her mull things over repeatedly wouldn't do her any good, so they needed some sort of distraction as well – Caity. Adding, that Caity needed some quality time with her mom too, especially as Sam wasn't herself this last several days and though she tried to hide it from Caity, she wasn't too successful with it. So Caity started to worry about Sam too, changing her into a much more serious girl than she used to be. Add to that the recent loss of her surrogate parents and it was clear that both needed a break.

And they found just the right spot for it.

A cabin with a small lake in Minnesota. Jack's cabin to be exact.

Well, it didn't take them long to find the right place to send Sam and Caity too. It had to be somewhere, where they'd rather be alone than with lots of other people, but where there'd also need to be lots of exciting distractions for Caity. Cause once Caity was excited about one thing or the other, it was really hard to withstand her lively personality. So as soon as Jake told him how much Caity loved exploring in wooded areas, he knew just the right spot. Telling Jake of his cabin, it pretty fast became clear that they had indeed found the perfect spot for them. And according to Jake, Caity loved fishing and regularly went doing just that with her surrogate dad. Perfect. Now they only had to convince Sam of it. Piece of cake.

The annoying ringing of his phone finally brought him out of his musings.

Jake had apparently just left the General's office or maybe he hadn't, but the General wanted to talk to him. Sighing, he put his yo-yo in his pocket and went to talk to General Hammond.

Entering the General's office when he was asked to, he took a quick look around. One, Jake had left. Two, he had rarely seen the General that shocked. Sure, he never took it easy whenever another person under his command was lost in their fight against the Goa'uld, but the sad look in General Hammond's eyes had another level to it. This time it was personal, General Hammond considered Sam as family after all.

"Will she be alright?" General Hammond asked finally, gesturing for Jack to close the door and take a seat.

Shrugging, Jack kept fiddling with the pen that didn't wanted to be left behind when he left his own office. He had thought about this himself, but was confident Sam would finally be.

"Yeah. Eventually. I have a feeling that Caity won't let her fall into a deep depression or anything, not if she has a say in it too," he finally replied. Both men in the room knew that Jack was referring to his own depression after Charly died, feeling so down that he didn't care about going on a suicide mission as thoughts of suicide were a big part in his life then anyway.

"Good." The General replied, releasing a deep sigh of relief. Both Jake and Colonel O'Neill had replied in about the same manner, finally convincing him that she indeed would overcome the latest things life had thrown in her way. He wouldn't want to loose Sam after all, neither as family nor as an officer of his. Thinking of that, he continued, "Are you aware that Major Carter requested an, as she called it, more base bound position within the SGC?"

Looking up in surprise, Jack replied, "No. But I guess it makes sense, with Caity and all. If she kept going the way she's doing now, she wouldn't be able to see much of her daughter. Carter loves her, needs her and when she's not going off-world that often, she wouldn't have the time she needs to spent with her."

Fiddling with his pen once again, he asked as an after-thought, "She still wants to go off-world though?" Cause he couldn't imagine to never going through the Stargate with her on his side. That would just be wrong. Who was going to save their collective asses then?

"Yes. Major Carter basically wants to cut down on those several days lasting missions, spending more time in her lab."

"At least we won't have to worry to get her off the base then," Jack replied chuckling – and receiving a similar response from General Hammond.

"So… have you considered her request yet?" Jack asked interested, cause men never asked out of pure curiosity, they only asked out of interest.

"I have, though I wanted to wait with the final decision until she had the chance to talk to the rest of SG-1," he replied pointedly.

"Ah. That explains her recent nervousness. Well, she told us about Caity after she flew that asteroid through earth. Then again, she vanished afterwards, so there was no time to really talk about it and think about the implications and all… She'd still be on SG-1 though, right?" Jack finished almost pleadingly.

"Of course. The question is, if you'd be willing to take another scientist with you if need be. Then again, there'll probably be a couple of missions where the 3 of you would go alone, if you agree, that is. And the higher ups too, for that matter," General Hammond explained.

Thinking about it, it made sense to Jack. Even if he had to baby-sit another geek now and then, most of the time it would be SG-1, even if Sam wouldn't be with them all the time. He was also sure that Teal'c and Daniel, once he'd overcome his stupid resentment over Sam giving Caity to foster parents, would agree with him. And if he was honest, that sounded much better than the other possibility – Sam leaving SG-1 for good.

"Yes sir. I think I can handle another ge… scientist now and then. And I'm sure Daniel and Teal'c will agree to it too." Jack said confidently.

"Good, I'm glad to hear this," the General replied business-like, before concern started to show on his face again. "So, I hear you and Jake already have a plan to help Sam through this?"

"Well, yes sir. If you don't mind prolonging her leave that is."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to force Major Carter back when she's not ready. Though I'm sure between you and Jake you'll tell me when she _is_ ready to come back!"

"Yes, sir." Jack replied, relief showing on his face.

"I'm also counting on you to decide when she's ready for off-world travel."

"Understood. Thank you, sir."

"Good. Now why don't you go back to that paperwork I'm sure you have been working on before coming here?" General Hammond asked, smiling knowingly.

Looking innocently back at his CO, raising his eyebrows, Jack showed the pen he brought with him, the one he was fiddling with all the time. Didn't it show that was indeed working and just wasn't having enough time to put the pen down before he came to see the General?

"Dismissed!" General Hammond said chuckling, shaking his head at his 2IC. Feeling much better, now that he knew that between Jake and Jack there was no chance of Sam developing a severe depression, he went back to _his_ paperwork.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Mommy is still sleeping," Caity announced, running into the kitchen where Janet was putting the newly purchased groceries away. "Do you think she will sleep on like forever?" she continued concerned. She knew that her mommy was really tired, but she was sleeping really long now and Caity simply wanted her awake.

"No, she will wake up eventually. Don't worry," Janet assured the little girl.

"But it's really late already!" Caity pressed on.

Sighing, Janet replied, "I know. How about we make lunch, and when she isn't awake once it's ready you go and wake her. How does that sound?"

Thinking about it, Caity finally smiled brightly – and was suddenly looking so much more like her mother, despite the close resemblance to her uncle.

"Yay! Can we start now?" she asked eagerly.

Shaking her head in amusement, breakfast wasn't that long ago after all, Janet finally conceded. "Okay, why not."

"Aunty Janet?" Caity started hesitantly, continuing after Janet smiled encouraging at her. "Can we make more, so Uncle Jack can have something too? Cause it doesn't look like he has someone cooking for him."

Laughing out loud, Janet readily agreed to it, ruffling Caity's hair with affection.

"And for Uncle Jake too? Cause Aunty Jocy isn't here and he can't cook as good as her," she added seriously, frowning as if in deep thought. She didn't want to let her Uncle Jake go hungry, especially as Aunty Jocy wasn't there to look out for him!

Smiling brightly at Caity, Janet replied, "No problem. We have enough chicken for everyone. But you'll have to help me, okay?"

Nodding vigorously, Caity happily agreed. _She_ loved to cook, or make that help the grown-ups cook, after all!

Thoroughly washing the fresh vegetables they just bought, and getting herself rather wet in the process too, Caity suddenly stopped in mid-motion, frowning.

"Caity? What is it?" Janet asked concerned.

"Uh oh, what about Cassie? Won't she be hungry after school too? Cause I always am!" Caity replied thoughtfully.

Putting the knife she was cutting the chicken with down, Janet came over and pulled Caity into a big hug. Putting her back down again, she kissed her forehead, before finally replying.

"Thank you. That's very considerate of you Caity. But don't worry, we have enough for everyone and there might even be some leftovers, so the Colonel will have another meal."

"Oh. Great!" Caity answered before going back to drowning the vegetables with renewed energy.

Shaking her head almost unbelievable, Janet went back to work too. Caity was definitely Sam's daughter, constantly thinking about one thing or another, worrying about the people around her. She hadn't even met Cassie, yet she was already thinking of her. Or of the Colonel. Well, she basically slept on him last night, but still. They didn't even speak one word with another! It also showed Janet how much Sam must have been talking about her friends, otherwise Caity wouldn't act like taking care of people she never met was the most normal thing in the world – or being comfortable around them, her included, for that matter.

Once the food was almost finished, Janet turned to Caity who was sitting on the kitchen table, colouring. Apparently, the Colonels fridge looked rather boring and could use some more pictures on it, so Caity decided to draw a picture for him. Luckily, Jake had put her colouring things in the little backpack he brought this very early morning, so all she needed to do was get her stuff and get started.

"Caity?" Janet said, only continuing after she was sure she had the little girls attention. "You can go and wake your mom now."

"Yay!"

Janet had barely finished her sentence, when Caity was already on her way to the master bedroom. Smiling, Janet made sure the food didn't need her attention right now before she followed at a more sedate pace.

As soon as Caity reached the bedroom door, she opened it enthusiastically and basically jumped onto the bed. Sam was laying on her back, and she was still sleeping. Jumping up and down, Caity repeated over and over again.

"Mommy, mommy, wake up!"

When Sam finally stirred, Caity plopped down next to her, using her fingers to bribe one of her mom's eyes open. "Morning!" she called cheerfully.

Still being more asleep than awake, Sam mumbled something, causing Caity to giggle.

"Wake up! Me and Aunty Janet made lunch!" Caity continued insistently.

Lunch? This caused Sam to sit up abruptly. How could it be lunchtime, and where the hell was she? Finally remembering last night, she blushed slightly, before moving Caity onto her lap, hugging her closely. Sighing, Caity willingly snuggled into her, hugging her back.

Smiling at the scene in front of her, Janet gave them a couple of minutes to themselves before she cleared her throat. Seeing both Sam's and Caity's attention moving to her, she said, "Okay Caity, why don't we go and set the table, so your mom can get ready?" Pointing at a small bag next to the door, she continued, "Sam? Jake brought some clothes for you, so why don't you go and take a shower? The Colonel left some towels for you to use, too. And once you are finished, lunch will be ready."

"We have chicken and veggies and stuff!" Caity announced enthusiastically. "And we had to have Fruit loops for breakfast, cause the toast was all yucky," she added, wrinkling her nose at the mere thought of it.

Not waiting for a reply, Caity scrambled off her mother's lap, and down the bed. Looking up at Sam, who admittedly was still looking half asleep, she all but ordered, "And don't go back to sleep, cause I'm really, really hungry!"

Chuckling, Janet smiled up at Sam before taking Caity by the hand, "Come on Caity, or your mom will be ready before we are!"

Having no choice but to comply to her daughter's orders, well and her own rumbling stomach too, Sam got up to take a shower. Hopefully she'd be more awake afterwards.

Lunch was more or less a quiet event, as Caity was too busy eating and both Sam and Janet were lost in their own thoughts. Once they finished and had cleaned up after them, Caity convinced the two adults that she absolutely had to go to the playground close by and try the swings, because they looked absolutely spectacular when they drove by on their way to the grocery store earlier. Sighing as she looked into her daughters hopeful eyes, Sam finally agreed.

On their way back to the Colonel's house, Sam had to admit that it was a good thing, letting Caity convinced her to go. She was feeling much better now than after she woke up this morning, well noon, whatever. Caity too was having such a good time at the playground, already making some new friends, that soon enough Sam found herself truly smiling at her daughter and even agreed to use the swings for a while. Not that Janet was left out though, Caity had more than enough energy to keep both of them busy with her little requests of doing this and that, looking here and there.

So it was late afternoon, before the seemingly endless amounts of energy in Caity's body finally seemed spent. Once they arrived back at the Colonels house, Caity asked for something to drink, before she plopped down on the couch, declaring that she was not going to move anytime soon. Sam didn't put up a fight this time, knowing she had to talk to the Colonel, or make that Jack, before she went home.

xoxoxoxoxo

Just like this morning, Jack gave Jake a ride. Only this time any uncomfortable silence was gone and replaced by thinking of different ways to get Sam to agree to their plan of sending her off to Jack's cabin. Because _they_ knew the idea was brilliant and just what Sam needed. And if she shouldn't see it right away, they were preparing their argument for making her agree. As Jack's house was on the way to Sam's, they decided to check there first, looking if Sam was maybe still there. So seeing her car in the driveway, Jack pulled over and both men got out, heading for the front door.

Opening the door, they could hear some faint giggling from the general direction of the kitchen, and Jack couldn't help himself an called,

"Hey, no giggling!"

Well, he got his wish as the giggling stopped – and turned into laughter only a couple of seconds later…

_

* * *

A/N: I was going to give you a short chapter, as I forgot to add the Christmas wishes into the last one – now look what Muse did! This one turned out much longer than I intended it to be… leaving me almost no time to finish my Christmas presents. Sigh. Anyway, I still havea fewhours and sleep is overrated anyway. LOL. That said and not knowing if there'll be a new chapter this year, both Muse and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year … or whatever else applies to you! _

_Okay, some more stuff covered now. So next chapter Daniel and Teal'c will have to fight off Caity's charm! I might even add the twins for good measure… And we all know who'll win eventually!_

_Once again, a special THANKS to all those who reviewed… and those who are going to review of course. hint, hint Push the little button down here hint, hint_


	17. Chapter 17

Looking slightly confused at Jake, who shrugged his shoulders in return, while a small smile played on his lips, Jack shrugged as well and moved towards the laughter. As soon as they entered the kitchen, because that's where the laughter was coming from, both sported similar grins on their face.

In front of them where Caity, Janet and Sam – making cookies. Well, Caity was more or less covered in flour, kneeling on a kitchen chair, her arms in a big bowl with the finished cookie dough and she was happily kneading away. Janet was standing next to her, getting things ready to actually bake the cookies while Sam was leaning on the kitchen counter, watching with a small, even if somewhat sad, smile on her face. Right now, Caity was also telling Sam and Janet about the importance of thoroughly kneading the dough before baking it – otherwise it just wouldn't taste right. And of the importance of tasting the dough prior the baking of course!

But seeing both her Uncles Jake and Jack enter the kitchen, which was no surprise as they of course heard them enter the house and the demanding to stop giggling that made them laugh even more, Caity stood up, jumped off her chair and run towards both men.

"Uncle Jake!" she screamed with delight, before throwing herself into his arms.

Jake had no choice but to catch her, even if it meant he was covered not only in flour now, but also in a lot of fresh cookie dough. Smiling at his enthusiastic niece, he asked, "Hey munchkin, you having fun?"

Nodding vigorously she replied, "Yay! We're making cookies!" before planting a kiss on his cheek and putting her dough-covered arms around his neck. Then she laid her head on his shoulder, looking both shyly but also curiously up at Jack.

Feeling himself being scrutinised by the little girl, Jack moved his attention from watching Sam – who looked much better than last night, in his opinion anyway – to Caity, smiling at her.

"Hi Caity."

"Hi," she replied, waving shyly at him. Then frowning as if in deep thought, she asked uncertain, "Do you like cookies?"

"I love them!" he answered, his smile broadening even more. He already started to like this girl, after all, who could resist home-made cookies anyway?

"Great!" Caity answered more animatedly now. "Because we are making lots! And me and Aunty Janet made chicken for you too, because you have no one to cook for you. And we had to throw your toast away – it was all yucky. And then I had to have fruit loops for breakfast, although I'm only allowed them on Sundays. But I didn't mind, because I really love them!"

"Breath, Caity!" Jake reminded her, chuckling softly.

Taking a deep breath, she rolled her eyes at her uncle – a gesture that reminded Jack so much of Sam, that he couldn't help but raising his eyebrows amused, looking straight at Sam. And sure enough, she started to blush – she hadn't missed Caity's gesture after all and knew pretty well what he was hinting at.

"Uncle Jack," Caity said more seriously now, bringing him out of his musings. "Thank you for looking after my mommy." That said, she leaned towards him, holding her arms out.

Taking her from Jake – dough covered hands and all - he replied just as serious, "You're welcome. Your mommy is pretty special, hm?"

"Yeah," she answered smiling brightly.

Seeing her looking at him with those big blue eyes – Sam's eyes – he couldn't help himself but fall in love with her. And this time there were no regulations to keep him from showing it. Hugging her tightly, and being pleased that Caity didn't seemed to mind that all, he whispered "Guess we all have to look a bit after her right now."

"Uh huh," she replied nodding. "Oh! We need to bake the cookies! Do you wanna try some dough?" she added as an afterthought, the seriousness in her voice completely gone.

Caity really liked her Uncle Jack. Well, he was snoring last night, but she didn't mind, her dad and Uncle Jake also snored sometimes after all. But he also took her serious and was looking after her mommy, who was the most important person in her life right now. Therefore, she decided she'd be generous and let him taste the cookie dough, although that was usually the job of the person who did all the kneading!

"I'd love to," Jack replied while he carried her over to her chair and put her down carefully. Out of his eyes he could see Janet grinning first at him and then at Sam and Jake, who was standing close to his sister now. So what, the little girl had him wrapped around her finger in no time, and if Janet wanted to tease him about it – which he was pretty sure that mischievous twinkle in her eyes, he'd seen when she grinned at him, meant – then he'd have to live with it. And hey, he'll be getting cookies out of it too, so he wasn't going to complain!

xoxoxoxoxo

Once the last cookies went into the oven, Janet had said her good-bye, because she didn't want to leave Cassie alone any longer. Caity had insisted that she had to take some of the already finished cookies with her and Sam had brought her to the door, thanking her for just being there today. Up until then, Sam had watched her friends interacting with her daughter, who was happily chatting away. This had repeatedly brought a small smile to her face, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by any of the adults in the kitchen – and made all of them enjoy the early evening even more. So when Sam didn't come back after a while, Jack – in silent agreement with Jake – went to look for her.

"Hey," Jack said quietly, not wanting to startle Sam. She was standing in his backyard, hugging herself and seemed lost in thoughts.

Though she didn't reply immediately, he knew she had noticed his arrival. And sure enough, after a couple of minutes she turned around and came to where he was standing on his porch.

"Hi," she said, not looking up at him.

"How are you doing?" He knew, it was a stupid question, but he nevertheless needed to know _how_ she'd answer it.

She was about to automatically answer _'I'm fine'_, but caught herself in time. After last night, there was no point for her to play being strong in front of him. After last night, everything but the truth would hurt him. And her too. Realising that, she answered truthfully, a sad smile playing on her lips, "Not fine … but I'll be, eventually."

"Good," Jack replied relieved, not realising he had been holding his breath while waiting for her answer.

Not knowing how to broach the subject he came to talk about, he simple stood there, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. As Sam didn't really want to talk either, silence once again descended on Jack's porch.

"Soo… cookies?" he finally said, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Yeah, Caity loves to make them and she decided you needed some more food."

"Because my toast was all yucky?" he asked chuckling.

"Yeah, something like that," she answered, smiling once again.

Not wanting to let the silence overtake again, Jack took Sam's right hand in both of his, effectively making her to look at him.

"Look, I know you're pretty down and you probably don't want to talk about everything over and over again, preferable shutting yourself off from everyone. But we both know you can't do that, there's still Caity to think about and no matter how much fun she had in there today, she still has to work through quite a lot of not so nice stuff. And for that she needs all of your attention."

"I know," Sam replied almost inaudible, staring at where he was still holding her hand in his.

"And burying yourself in your lab won't work either," he added gently. After receiving an almost defeated nod, he continued, "But I also know from experience that staying at home doesn't help things along, if anything, it might even make it worse."

Now Sam was confused. What he said was right so far, but he suggested neither working nor staying at home will help her move on. So what was she supposed to do then?

Seeing her puzzled expression, he continued, "Well, Jake and I have talked about it and, well… how about spending some time at my cabin?"

"What?" Sam asked surprised. _That_ was the last thing she'd expected. His cabin? How did they come up with that idea?

Taking a deep breath, he started again. "What I meant is, you and Caity should spent some time there. You won't be surrounded by tons of people, so it'd be giving you time to think things through, but you'd also be close enough to the next town if you need anything. It's also close enough for your mobile phone to work, so you'd only be a phone call away, if you'd want to talk or anything. And Caity will have lots of distractions too, nature trails, fishing… " he finally trailed off.

"Oh…" she had to admit, it wasn't what she expected, but it sounded sort of interesting.

"Yeah, well. You don't have to, you know… ," he said nervously.

Taking her time to think about it while she subconsciously played with his hands, she finally nodded.

"Yes," she simply said. "I think I'd like that."

Surprised, he looked up – he was pretty mesmerised by her hands playing with his – saying, "Yes?"

"Yes," she replied, more confident of her decision now.

"Sweet."

xoxoxoxoxo

It was Friday night and after over a week Sam was finally home again. She was tired, yes, but she also felt much better. And as sceptical as she was at the beginning, the plan her brother Jake and friend – and not her CO – Jack had come up with had actually worked.

Instead of flying she had taken the time to actually drive up there in the SUV she had inherited from Susan and Aaron, so they'd be more independent, even if it meant they had less time to spent at the cabin. Nevertheless, it was well worth it. She and Caity had enjoyed both the time on the road and the time they spent exploring the woods around the cabin or sitting on the small dock on the lake, pretending to be fishing.

But Sam also spent time to tell Caity about her big brother, and Caity didn't mind, even if she knew some of those stories already. To the contrary, she loved to hear them and often asked Sam about another one, even if she didn't intended to do so in the beginning – and yet she enjoyed it. Then during that time at night when Caity was already sleeping but it was too early for Sam to join her, she was thinking about David too, allowing herself to completely let go and mourn his loss.

They also made use of her mobile phone frequently, calling home once a day – mostly Jake, but also Janet or Jack, as Caity wanted to say _'Hi'_ to them too. And when she had felt especially bad one night, she had called Jack and they talked half the night.

And now she was back. She had just put Caity to bed, who was fast asleep as soon as she had hit the pillow, and now Sam was just finishing up before going to bed as well.

And tomorrow she'd see Daniel and Teal'c again – and they'd meet Caity for the first time…

xoxoxoxoxo

Truth be told, Jake never thought he'd find the perfect house that easily. Well, apparently he was wrong. As soon as he got in contact with the real estate agent, she showed him this house. It was in the right part of town, quite new, big enough and the owners wanted to sell it as fast as possible as they really needed the money. Once he had secured the house, Jake wanted to move his family as soon as possible. For one, they had a pretty good offer on their house in Denver – if they managed to move out soon. And for two, he wanted to stay as close to Sam as possible, but could only do this if his family was here too, and as school had finished just last week, that was luckily no problem either.

So as everything happened rather fast, Jack had offered his help and the help of Daniel and Teal'c – and Jake was grateful for it.

"So tell me again Jack, why are we suddenly going to help Dr. Pullman?" Daniel asked from the backseat, as they were driving towards Jake's house.

"What, can't we just be nice to _the new guy_? You wouldn't want his family having to move into an unfinished house, now, would you?"

"Jack."

"Daniel!"

"Daniel Jackson, did Dr. Pullman not find an antidote working well with O'Neill's reluctance of being exposed to any needle bearing medical instrument?" Teal'c asked raising an eyebrow.

Of course, Teal'c had another suspicion too. Though he didn't mention it, he had noticed the increasing amount of time O'Neill spent with Dr. Pullman – and he'd also noticed the resemblance Dr. Pullman showed to Jacob Carter, even if you had to take a close look to see it. But he didn't became First Prime for nothing. The glasses and all that hair of Dr. Pullman might be deceiving if you didn't know what to look for, but the resemblance was there nevertheless. However, as long as O'Neill wasn't going to mention it, he would be silent too.

But now he was going to enjoy the show between O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, and maybe the younger man's mood would lighten up a bit.

As Teal'c had predicted, Daniel was first looking incredulously at Jack, but after seeing the smile tucking on Teal'c's lips, he simply burst out laughing. After all it was true! Dr. Pullman did find a way to counteract the effects of yet another alien bug they had encountered a few days ago and it simply had to be swallowed and that was it. No wonder Jack liked the new microbiologist. It all made sense now! Or that's what he thought anyway.

"Okay, okay. I get it!" Daniel replied still grinning at Jack, who didn't seemed to be too pleased with Daniels sudden outburst. "So is Sam coming too, after all you said it's a SG-1 help thing? We haven't seen her for quite a while now," Daniel continued, his good mood replaced by distrust.

You could feel the tension rising in the car after Daniel's statement. Truth be told, Daniel didn't know what to think anymore. At first, he was more than disappointed when Sam told them about Caity, how she had spent her life so far. He also wondered if she'd said anything, if he hadn't accidentally found the picture of her daughter. That hurt the most. Sam not telling them anything. Telling _him_ anything. After all, Sam always had been like a sister to him. Also, in contrast to what most people thought, he and Sam often talked about things that had nothing to do with science but with everything else. So no matter how much he tried to be reasonable, he really was hurt.

Then again, he had neither seen nor heard from Sam for almost 3 weeks now. And that was _so_ not like her and it worried him. Although, he suspected Jack knew more than he let on – otherwise he'd be a real pain in the ass by now – and even if he tried not to, he was becoming more and more jealous of Jack and lashed out at him, even if he didn't mean to. Maybe that was another reason why Jack spent so much time with Dr. Pullman. Maybe he was looking for another friend, because he, Daniel, didn't act like the friend he was supposed to be lately. And Jack's next words seemed to prove it.

"Daniel, leave it. You know as well as I do that she has some family stuff to sort through. I don't know if she'll be there today, but we won't know for sure until we actually get there," Jack sighed, giving Daniel one of his patented just-leave-it looks.

Feeling the jealously taking over again, Daniel answered more than annoyed, "Fine, I won't ask her what is going on. If she turns up at all. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Sighing, Jack wondered if it was such a good idea to bring Daniel. If Sam was going to show up, and he really hoped she would, then Daniel wouldn't exactly go easy on her. And that was something she definitely didn't need right now.

With Daniel pouting and Jack brooding, the silence in the car was starting to get really uncomfortable. Luckily, they finally arrived at the Pullmans house just then. Looking at the mess created by countless boxes and furniture on the front lawn and porch, Jack stated the obvious, "Okay kids, looks like wonder-Doc could really do with some help! Let's get inside to see if we can find anyone."

So after parking the car, they made their way through the boxes and other things lying around, towards the house.

"Wow, this place is huge! It must have at least 4 bedrooms if not even more. No wonder they're thousands of boxes outside. And look at that big fire-place!" Daniel said, seemingly in a better mood now.

"Actually, it has 5 bedrooms and a potential additional one above the garage." Jake said, chuckling at Daniels enthusiasm. "Anyway, thanks for helping us. We sure need every help we get, but I guess you already figured that one out!"

"Sure, your welcome. So Jake, what's with all the boxes in the front? Aren't they supposed to be in the house instead of outside?" Jack asked, trying to raise only one eyebrow. Which of course earned him one raised eyebrow from Teal'c and two from Daniel.

Grinning at the teams interaction, Jake answered, "Well, it turned out the moving company had some coordination problems. Their trucks basically needed to be at two places at the same time. Which is obviously not possible. So it was either wait another week or get our stuff dropped off at 5 a.m. today. The first one never being an option for us in the first place, we ended up with this mess up front. Anyway, how about a little tour of the house?"

Just then they heard another car pull up and were joined only seconds later by Janet Fraiser.

"Hey Jake, that looks quite interesting out there," she greeted grinning.

"Yeah, about that… any chance you've seen my wife and the kids in between the boxes?"

Rolling her eyes at him – his behaviour was so much like Colonel O'Neill's sometimes that it scared her – she turned to greet the other three occupants of the room.

"Uhm, just how many kids do you have?" asked Daniel curiously.

"Only four," he replied cheerfully, while showing them the first room upstairs. "This is going to be Keenan's room, he's my oldest." The room itself was quite big and seemed to be ready for the furniture to be moved in. The wall's were freshly painted in shades of green and white, and the big window was open to aid in airing the room.

Moving to the next room, he continued cheerfully, "And this is Lucas' room. Oh look, here they are. Keenan, Lucas come over for a minute please."

"Sure dad," Lucas replied, while putting his paint-brush down. This room also looked like it was almost finished, only the last touches were missing.

"Just a sec!" Came from Keenan, who was standing with his back to them on a ladder, concentrating on only painting the wall, while leaving the ceiling as it was.

"Take your time, we don't want you to fall off the ladder after all!" Jake replied, before motioning towards Lucas. "This is Lucas. Lucas, these are Dr. Daniel Jackson, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Mr. Teal'c."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Lucas said cheerfully.

"Same here. Just call me Jack, that's Daniel and that's Teal'c." Jack replied smiling at him. "You've got quite a nice room here."

"Thanks," Lucas replied proudly. He liked his room too, especially as his parents allowed him to choose the way he was going to paint it and he and Keenan had done all the painting by themselves.

Keenan choose that moment to finish off what he was doing, coming over to them.

"Hi, I'm Keenan," he greeted just as good-natured as his brother.

"Hi, I'm …" Daniel started to say, before trailing off and staring wide-eyed at Keenan when he looked up to greet him.

"Keenan, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jack, that's Teal'c and the guy doing the impressive fish-thingy is Daniel," Jack said.

After taking a close look at Keenan himself, he couldn't even fault Daniel for his reaction to him. After all, that boy looked so much like Sam that it was almost scary. Okay, the eyes were different, but still. And if Teal'c was surprised by Keenan's appearance, than he didn't show it. But that's Teal'c for you.

Janet, who had entered the room just before Keenan came down the ladder to join the others, stepped forward to break the slightly awkward silence.

"Hi Keenan, Lucas, it's nice to see you again," she started, smiling at both of them. Then she turned to both Jack and Jake, saying disapprovingly, "Colonel, can it be you forgot to mention something?"

"Huh? What?"

"I believe what Dr. Frasier means, is that you have not mentioned the relationship between Dr. Pullman and Major Carter," Teal'c stated calmly.

"Oh! That. I thought I did," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"You did not," Teal'c said.

Daniel, still at a loss for words, only managed to look even more confused – if that was possible at all.

Jake, who had at least the decency to blush slightly, finally said, "Sorry about that. I thought Jack mentioned it. Sam is my little sister. I was born as Jacob Carter Jr., but took Jocelyn's name when I married her."

"Oh," Daniel finally managed to say, while Teal'c nodded his approval. He had suspected this kinship after all.

And as if this wasn't enough, several feet could be heard on the stairs before two little girl's came flying into the room, happily screaming, "Daddy, daddy!", each of them attaching themself to one of Jake's legs, looking curiously at all those unknown men around them.

Following at a more sedate pace, she was older after all, was Caity. But as soon as she saw the people in the room, she screamed just as loud as her cousins before, "Uncle Jack! Aunty Janet!" before throwing herself into Jack's arms.

"Hey Caity," he replied smiling, kissing her on her forehead. "How are you doing?"

"Great!" she replied enthusiastically, before furrowing her brow. "You know there's no fish in your lake, right?"

Snorting, Janet replied, "I'm sure he does, sweety."

"Ah, Doc. It's all about the act of fishing, not about actually catching a fish!" Jack replied good naturedly. Seeing the looks both Teal'c and Daniel where giving him, or rather the precious person on his arm, he continued. "Okay, Caity? These are your Uncles Daniel and Teal'c."

"Hi," she waved, suddenly becoming shy. She knew they were friends of her mommy, but right now Uncle Daniel was pulling a really strange and almost scary face and Uncle Teal'c was really, _really_ big!

Kissing her once more, Jack handed Caity over to Janet, while motioning to both Daniel and Teal'c.

"Why don't we let Keenan and Lucas finish here, and take another glance at Keenan's room? We didn't have time to admire all the handiwork after all."

Jack thought that now that they started, it would be best to tell Daniel and Teal'c the whole story – and preferable before they, or make that Daniel, met Sam. And Daniel still being dumbfounded was of advantage too, because that way he might be able to explain things without being interrupted by his friend. Seeing Jake nodding his agreement, Jack led Daniel and Teal'c back to Keenan's room, where they soon were joined by Jake, now without the twins attached to his legs.

He and Jake had actually talked about this beforehand, after Sam had asked them to tell Daniel and Teal'c, because she wasn't sure she could do it again. Now having both Daniel and Teal'c in one room, being sure there'd be no interruptions, Jack started.

"Okay kids, I think it's time for a little family history… "

* * *

_A/N Phew. So what do you think? Once again Muse had to include her ideas, so this chapter ended up becoming longer and longer – but at least Daniel and Teal'c met Caity. And there's definitely more of them next chapter. Knowing Muse, I'm not sure I can fit Jacob into the next chapter as well, but he'll definitely be there in chapter 19. I know I left Mark out so far, but I'll think of something to add him too. Or even better, let Muse do the thinking… grins_

_Okay, it's after 3 a.m. on the last day of this year and I'm more asleep than anything, but nevertheless HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! And don't forget to push the little button down here! And once you've come so far, you can even write something to let me know what you think about this chapter! Yeah, this review-thingy is a great invention, isn't it!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Now having both Daniel and Teal'c in one room, being sure there'd be no interruptions, Jack started._

_"Okay kids, I think it's time for a little family history… "_

**Chapter 18**

Jack was just about to continue, when he was interrupted by Daniel who was sounding very annoyed.

Daniel couldn't help himself, but feeling betrayed. After all the things he shared with Sam – and very personal things at that – she'd still rather confide in Jack than come to him. He'd have understood if it had something to do with the Air Force or the military in general. But it was obviously rather personal – and she apparently didn't want to share it with him. So he had every right to be pissed at her. After all, _she_ knew of most of his bad experiences with several of his foster parents and yet she gave her daughter in the same system! How was he supposed to be _not_ mad at her? No wonder she wouldn't tell him about it – which of course made her betrayal even worse!

"So what's there to say? Sam obviously lied to us for what, the last 5 years or something?" Daniel said bitterly.

"Daniel."

"What Jack? Are you going to tell us she wasn't lying to you too? That you knew all along and didn't bother to tell us?"

"Daniel!"

"Again. What?"

"Daniel, would you _please_ shut up until you know the whole story?" By now, Jack's voice war dangerously low. Something Daniel ignored completely.

"What's there to know? Sam had a kid, abandoned it for what, 6 or 7 years, but suddenly developed a conscious and is suddenly playing loving mom! And all the time she's been lying to us!" Daniel all but shouted, gesticulating wildly with his arms.

"Dr. Jackson, please… " Jake started, but was interrupted by Daniel.

"Ah yes. I forgot the lost brother. Another thing Sam forgot to tell us about! Is there anything else we should know? A buried husband maybe?"

"Daniel!" Jack said in a low voice, gripping Daniel's shoulders tightly. "Shut the hell up and listen!" Jack continued, now almost shouting too.

"What? Suddenly feeling guilty or something?" Daniel replied menacingly, staring straight back at Jack.

Daniel was so worked up by now, that even if he tried to stop he wouldn't be able to do so. Realising that, Jack released Daniel, replying more gently, "I know it looks bad, but do you really think Sam would do something like that without good reason?"

"How am I supposed to know? Apparently she doesn't trust me and I'm not good enough for her to tell me things like that!" Daniel shouted, gesticulating wildly once again. "I need a break, I can't breath here anymore," he added more quiet, before turning around and heading for the door.

"Daniel, wait!" Jack tried once more.

"O'Neill, I believe it would be best to leave Daniel Jackson to himself and give him time to calm down." Teal'c stated in that sombre voice of his, while slightly tilting his head.

He had watched the exchange with growing concern. His friend had taken the news of the existence of Sam's daughter far worth than any of them had realised. It seemed that he had worked up quite some anger towards Sam – and choose _now_ to release everything. It might not be the best place to do this, but it was bound to happen at some point. And despite Daniel's behaviour, Teal'c knew that he still cared deeply for Sam – which was the reason for his outburst in the first place.

So Teal'c promised himself to help Daniel to overcome his current distrust and disappointment in Sam, and was sure so would O'Neill and Jake Pullman. But to do so, he would have to learn the whole story – and somehow he got the feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to learn.

"O'Neill, what was it you and Jake Pullman were going to tell us?"

Sighing, Jack closed the door and motioned for Jake to start.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Ignoring Jack, Daniel had opened the door, slamming it closed behind him, and all but run down the stairs, past the living room and through the kitchen into the backyard. What he didn't see though, were Sam, Janet and Jocelyn standing in the doorway to Lucas' room, where they had heard the whole conversation. Which, considering the raised voices, wasn't too difficult either.

Dumbfounded, Sam looked back at Janet and Jocelyn, tears threatening to fall once again. Damn, she had felt so much better after her trip to Jack's cabin – but Daniel managed to greatly disturb her new-found emotional balance with just a few words, that weren't even meant for her to hear. Seeing her mom's distress, Caity – who had been admiring her two older cousins handiwork in Lucas' room, trying to overhear the yelling from the adjoining room – came over, looking concerned at her mom.

"Mommy? Don't be sad. You don't have to talk to Uncle Daniel anymore, if he's such a meany. I don't like him either," she stated seriously, tucking at Sam's hands.

Trying to stop a threatening sob from emerging, Daniel _was_ her best friend after all, Sam bent down to pick up Caity, holding her close and seeking comfort from the contact. Putting her arms around her mother's neck, Caity kissed her cheek and removed the single tear that had escaped her mom's eye, before pressing her own cheek there.

Lena and Maia, having followed their cousin out of the room, didn't really know what was going on, but they did sense their Auntie's distress. Not wanting their favourite Auntie to be sad, they went over to Sam, each of them hugging one of her legs. Because _they_ loved to be hugged when they hurt or felt bad, and it always made things better.

"Love you!" Lena stated, looking up at Sam, which was immediately followed by Maia's, "Me love you too!"

Feeling much better already, after all, who could resist that much unconditional love, Sam put Caity down, kneeling in front of her two nieces and engulfed all three girls into a big hug, whispering softly, "Thank you. I love you too."

Happily smiling up at her, Lena said, "Me good at hugging!"

"Yay! Me too!" Maia joined in, after all, she could do everything her sister could do too!

"That you are," Sam replied, smiling down at them.

Having fulfilled their mission, Lena and Maia went back into their brother's room. Because they were also good at helping their brothers paint!

"Sam?" Janet asked, slightly touching Sam's arm to get her attention. "Why don't we take the girls and head for the zoo, like we had planned anyway?"

When they were talking about the Pullman's family move to Colorado Springs, Jocelyn came up with the idea of taking the twins to the zoo, to get them out of the way. With Sam being back and Caity absolutely loving the zoo, they decided that it'd be easiest to let Sam take the three girls there. Not wanting to leave Sam alone with 3 little kids, Janet offered to join her. On their way to the zoo, they'd also pick up Cassie, who'd spent the night at a friends place but wanted to be there for Sam too.

"What? Oh, right. The zoo," Sam replied.

"Yeah! Mommy, please lets go!" Caity said enthusiastically, tucking on her arm. She loved the zoo! She even brought Mr. Fluffy, so she could show him everything! And the best thing was that Uncle Daniel wouldn't come with them, who was her least favourite person in the world right now.

Sam couldn't help but smile at her daughter's eagerness, and truth be told, it give her some time to recover from Daniel's outburst – and Daniel could too.

"Okay, let's catch the twins and head out. If that's alright with you, Jocy?"

"Sure, go ahead. We'll be glad to have the little troublemakers out of the way for a while," Jocelyn replied grinning evilly, glad she wouldn't have to look after her girls and therefore would actually get something done. But she was also glad that everyone would have the time to calm down a bit.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Daniel was pacing around the backyard. Deep down inside, he knew he wasn't exactly reasonable, but he just couldn't help himself. He was genuinely pissed at Sam. After a good 10 minutes of aimlessly walking around, lowly muttering to himself, he finally choose a log in the back of the yard to sit down for a while.

As he was facing away from the house, he didn't see Keenan coming hesitantly towards him.

Keenan, having witnessed Daniel's outbreak – he was painting the wall between his room and Lucas' and therefore had gotten himself into a prime spot – decided to take matters in his own hands. So once he was finished with what he was doing and his mom and aunts left to get the twins ready for the zoo, he told Lucas he was going to have a little talk with Daniel.

Nodding - Lucas hadn't missed the conversation next room after all - he went back to work. He, too, wanted that his aunt and her friend would be getting along again, because, even though he might not be an adult yet, he knew that she needed all her friends now. And from what she told them of Daniel so far, he seemed like a pretty nice guy too.

Anyway, Keenan was now standing close to Daniel, trying to find the right words to start. In the end, he decided to not say anything at all, instead he went over to Daniel, sitting down on another log, shoving a due to a lot of handling crumpled picture into Daniels hand. Surprised, he hadn't heard anyone coming closer, Daniel looked up at Keenan, who was simply looking back at him. Taking a look at the picture in his hands, he could only gasp.

xoxoxoxoxo

"I see." Teal'c stated once he was told his friends story.

He was furious and if Jonas Hanson wouldn't have been dead already, his life wouldn't have been worth anything anymore. And he would have enjoyed it – as would have O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, he was sure. Nevertheless, he needed time to think about it, trying to find the best way to help his friend.

"Yeah," was Jack's simple reply. He could understand his friend only too good, knowing exactly what thoughts were running through his mind right now.

If Jake wouldn't have met Teal'c beforehand and already been somewhat used to his rather emotionless seeming accepting of most things, he would have wondered, how a person as cold as Teal'c, could have become a close friend to his sister. But having both met Teal'c and also having heard a lot of stories about Teal'c's compassion towards his friends, he was now able to see the slight difference in his expression, that Jake decided could be considered as real concern for Sam.

"Well, I think I'll better check on Daniel then," Jack said while opening the door. Knowing Teal'c, he'd want to have a couple of minutes to himself, thinking of the implications of what he had just learned. "Jake, you coming too?"

"Sure."

Making their way downstairs, they run straight into Jocelyn.

"Hey, do you know where Sam is?" asked Jake, before Jack added, "And Daniel?"

"Yes. Come with me." While taking Jake's hand, dragging him along, she continued. "Sam and Janet left with the girls for the zoo. As for Daniel, I'll better show you."

Moving towards the kitchen, she motioned for them to be quiet as she opened the door to the backyard and stepped onto the porch. At the far end they could see Daniel, sitting on a log with his back to them, lower arms resting on his tights, head hung low. Behind him, or from Daniel's point of view in front of him, was Keenan sitting on another log. They didn't seemed to be talking at the moment, but the intentions of Keenan were quite clear to all of them. So giving them the space they needed, the four adults went back inside, to start doing what they came for in the first place.

xoxoxoxoxo

Staring at the picture in his hands, Daniel couldn't believe what he was seeing. Turning it around, he read the writing in the back. _Keenan and David at_ _David's 6th birthday_. David? Who the hell was David? If it wasn't for Keenan looking slightly older, the two almost could have been twins!

"I don't understand," Daniel finally admitted, his curiosity having long overcome his bad mood.

"Until I was 7 years old, David was the best friend I ever had. We did everything together, and dad used to joke about us being the most twin-like non-twins he'd ever seen – despite the couple of month David was younger than me." Keenan started to explain quietly. "But a few month after this picture was taken, he vanished. Just like that. I might only have been 7 years old, not really knowing what had happened, but I could still see how miserable everyone was. Then several weeks ago, when dad was already working here, mom got a phone call just after Lucas and I came back from school. I've never seen her get that white that fast. As it turned out, it was a private investigator who was hired to look for David. He had gotten the call that David was found somewhere in Alaska. Apparently he had died within a couple of days after he had vanished… ." David trailed off, not being able to look at Daniel any longer.

"Oh. I'm really sorry," Daniel said – and meant it. Still, he couldn't quite figure out why Keenan was telling him this.

Looking up, Keenan could see the signs of confusion still present in Daniel's face, so he continued quietly.

"Daniel, as much as David looked like me, he wasn't my brother. He was my little cousin…." Finally seeing understanding dawning on Daniel's face, Keenan added, "He was Auntie Sam's son … and Caity's brother."

"What?" Upon hearing those words, Daniel's head jerked upwards, shock evident on his face.

For a while, he couldn't think at all. He just sat there, looking at Keenan is if he'd suddenly grown two heads or something. How could that be? Keenan was clearly in his teens, maybe 14, 15 years old. So this must have happened like 7 or 8 years ago! All those time, and Sam never even mentioned her missing son. He clearly remembered Jack when they first met, especially his suicidal personality, and for the first time he started to understand why Sam went to Jack and not to him. He was still hurt, but the jealousy towards Jack started to slowly dissipate.

Then Daniel realised, that Caity must have been a baby or not even born yet, when her brother vanished. And that her missing brother must have something to do with Sam's decision to give her up. Although, he still didn't understand that part. Sam had just lost her son, so why would she give up her daughter too? Wouldn't it be more understandable to hold onto her even tighter, instead of loosing her too? With his confusion rising once again, he also felt the understanding for Sam's situation starting to slip away again. He needed more information, because no matter what he learned so far, he couldn't help himself but still feeling betrayed by Sam's decision concerning Caity's upbringing. Especially after he told her of some of his worst experiences in the foster care system.

Looking up to ask Keenan more questions, he found the log opposite him empty. He had been so deep in thought, that he hadn't even realised that Keenan was gone. Remembering the photograph still in his hand, he looked back down at it. David looked so much like Sam, it was amazing. And he'd only have to look at Keenan to get an idea of how David would look like today.

"Crap," he muttered.

"What?" Jack – who had come up behind him unnoticed – asked, squeezing Daniel's shoulder slightly.

Showing the picture to Jack, he replied, "I just realised how hard it must be on Sam to see Keenan. David looked so much like him. It must be like seeing David growing up – only it's not David she's looking at."

"I don't think she's seeing it that way. Or maybe she is. According to Jake, Keenan and Sam are very close – and it's not all coming from Sam's side." Jack, who was sitting on the log Keenan had vacated earlier, said.

"Oh, okay."

Silence once again descended onto the backyard.

"I give up," Daniel finally said. "I just don't understand why Sam gave her daughter away. I just don't get it! I mean, okay, her son had just vanished before or just after Caity was born. But why give her away? I would have thought she'd hold onto her even tighter!"

"Jonas Hanson." Jack replied simply.

"Huh?"

Sighing, Jack started to explain why exactly Sam had given up Caity to Daniel.

"Oh," Daniel said, once Jack was finally finished.

"Yeah."

Daniel felt really bad. Now that he had heard the whole story, he could understand Sam's reasons up until why she had asked Jack and her brother to tell him and Teal'c. Suddenly everything made sense to him and every bad feeling towards Sam dissipated immediately, leaving Daniel feeling worse than he had in a long time.

"I guess I messed up big time."

"Yup."

"Damn. What am I supposed to do now? Sam probably doesn't want to talk to me anyway," Daniel said, sounding miserable.

"Just tell her why you've been the jerk you were. Daniel, you are one of Sam's closest friend – and that's what she needs right now. Her family, her friends. I'm sure you'll work something out." Jack stated reassuringly, before adding as an afterthought, "Though according to Jocelyn, Caity might be a different problem. She's pretty pissed at you right now."

"And I guess she has every right to feel like this," Daniel said ashamed. "I guess I should start by apologising to Dr. Pullman and everyone else."

"It's Jake. And yes, you should. Moving you six and actually help moving all the stuff form the front lawn would help too, I'm sure." Jack said flippantly.

"Oh! Right, we are here to help them move in… Uhm Jack? Where's Sam? I think I should talk to her before I'll do anything else."

"Well, that could be a problem." Jack started, and seeing Daniel's confused and insecure look, he continued, grinning. "She and Doc Frasier took Caity and Jake's 3-year old twins to the zoo, so the little ones are out of our way."

"Oh. That would make sense, I guess."

"Yep. Now come on, Spacemonkey. You've been lazily sitting around long enough. It's time you'll put some use to that few muscles of yours!" Jack said, happy that he and Teal'c weren't forced to beat some sense into Daniel after all.

Waiting till Daniel had gotten up, Jack walked beside Daniel towards the house, feeling like a lot of weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders.

_

* * *

A/N: I like Daniel, I really do. But I thought – given his childhood experiences after his parents death – he might have the most problems with Sam's past. Or rather Sam's not telling them. And we rarely see him as jerk, even though if it's only temporarily, and I thought I'll give it a try…_

_Another thing, I hope to portrait the kids, especially Caity, Lena and Maia, about right. Age-wise that is. I can't remember how I was during that time, and though I have nephews and a niece, they are rather close to my age and weren't exactly living next door, so I can't really remember them during that time either. So please feel free to comment on any mistakes I might make._

_Now I really need your help… Muse is pretty depressed, apparently she's just missing the sun and this might be a part of the problem. But even though she hasn't said anything, I know she'd loved to have a couple more reviews… I'm already trying to improve her mood by feeding her lots of chocolate, but this only goes so far… So please help Muse getting better! Nevertheless, thanks to all those who actually do sent reviews, Muse absolutely loves you all!_


	19. Chapter 19

As soon as Jack and Daniel came into the house, Daniel went looking for Keenan to thank him and apologising for his earlier behaviour, as he did with the rest of the Pullman family. After that, Jake asked Daniel to help him with the guest room, to which Daniel agreed – nervously. And while they painted the room, Jake read Daniel the riot act – finishing off by telling him to better never hurt his little sister again.

Daniel was unusual quiet during the whole time, defending himself not even once – showing just how awful he felt. So, after having learned quite a bit about Daniel from his sister, his behaviour told Jake how bad Daniel felt about his behaviour, therefore making it easier to forgive him – he was one of Sam's best friends after all. Nevertheless, Jake was going to make sure that Daniel wasn't getting off the hook easily. But Jake wouldn't have needed to worry about that, because Caity had her own bone to pick with Daniel...

By early evening, all paint jobs around the main areas of the house were done. Of course, it helped that Keenan and Lucas spent most of their first week after school finished painting everything around the house. Therefore, at least the twins room and master bedroom were completely finished, ready to be slept in. The boys themselves wouldn't be able to sleep in their own rooms yet, the paint was simply too fresh and some of the fumes still remained. Then again, they slept on the floor of various room during this last week and didn't mind to do so for another night or two.

Also, the boxes and furniture on the front lawn were gone. Additionally, at least the bigger pieces of furniture were already on their right places – although most of them still had to be reassembled. To allow enough room for movement, quite a lot of the boxes and smaller items had found their way into the garage or basement, but were at least safe from rain now. Even though they managed to do quite a lot during the day, the house was far from finished – but at least everyone had a place to sleep waiting for them that night, however temporary it may be.

After the awkward beginning, everyone got along just fine, although Lucas, Keenan and Jocelyn were still somewhat wary around Daniel. Not that he blamed them. Anyway, when Sam, Janet, Cassie, Caity and the twins came back from the zoo, the atmosphere in the house was once again relaxed, the tension from this morning gone.

xoxoxoxoxo

Tired from their exciting day at the zoo and well fed due to a spontaneous decision to better have dinner on the way back, something Jake and Jocelyn readily agreed to when Sam called to ask for their permission, the twins were fast asleep and Caity was half-way there when they finally arrived back at the new Pullman home. So both Janet and Cassie found themselves with one of the sleeping twins on their arm, while Sam took Caity, who – a little more awake now – insisted on saying good night to everyone before going home.

Cassie, being the first at the front door, was about to say something when she caught eye on _who_ had opened the door. Wow! He looked gorgeous! She knew it must be Sam's oldest nephew, Keenan – Sam had showed them some pictures of her brothers family after all and he looked a lot like her – but it must have been older ones! Because the boy in front of her neither had braces nor that rather ridiculous hair-cut like she had seen in the pictures. _How did that happen?_

"How did what happen?" Janet asked sounding … strange. She hadn't missed the way Keenan was looking – or rather gawping – at her daughter, she was standing right behind her after all. She knew that look all too well, and even though he was Sam's nephew and all, _she_ was Cassie's mom and didn't want her little girl to be looked at like that!

Oops. Did she say this out loud, Cassie thought?

"Uh … nothing," she replied lamely. _Argh_! He must think she's an idiot or something, staring at him like she suddenly realised she had done for quite some time now! And in the presence of her mom too! Luckily she wasn't drooling. Physically, that is. Mentally – that was a completely different matter.

At least Cassie didn't seemed to be the only confused one, judging by the way Keenan was still standing in the doorway so that they couldn't pass him to enter the house. Although, he too was brought out of his thoughts by Janet's voice. Clearing his throat, he stepped aside to let them enter house – and started to blush as soon as he caught the way Janet looked at him suspiciously.

Jack, having seen the whole thing from where he was standing, couldn't help but smirk at the short but intense display in front of him. Then he remembered _who_ exactly the girl was Keenan was gawping at and the smirk vanished. At once. Although he decided to the let the Doc handle it – for now anyway – he vowed to himself to stay up to date on that front. Cassie was still a little girl after all! He might even ask Teal'c for help there.

Finally, both Cassie and Keenan were saved from any immediate consequences by the arrival of Jocelyn from the kitchen and Sam from outside.

"They are out cold," Sam said smiling fondly, nodding towards Lena and Maia who were resting against Janet's and Cassie's chests, respectively.

"We better put them down then," Jocelyn replied, smiling at her sleeping children. Right now they looked like the sweetest angels and not like the mischievous troublemakers they tended to be from time to time. Then she turned, showing Cassie and Janet the way to the bedroom her twins would be sharing.

Shortly after they left, Teal'c and Daniel came downstairs, having just finished to assemble the furniture in the master bedroom. Jake had helped them, but opted to rather help putting his kids to bed than coming down with Daniel and Teal'c immediately.

Caity, nestled safely against her mom, head resting on her shoulder, eyed Daniel and Teal'c warily. But before she could make any decision regarding them, Jack came into her field of vision, smiling tenderly at her.

"Hey munchkin, did you have fun at the zoo?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling sleepily back at him, Daniel and Teal'c forgotten for the time being.

"And you don't want to go to bed because…?"

"Haven't said G'nite," Caity replied, mumbling slightly.

"Ah! Delaying tactics 101," Jack said knowingly, after first furrowing his brow and then nodding his head slowly as if he just found the solution to everything.

"Uhm, no-o!" Caity said shaking her head and giggling happily. She liked Uncle Jack, he was really funny! And he made her mommy smile. Like he did just now.

"Yep."

"No."

"Yes, yes, ye-es!"

"No, no, no-o!" By now Caity wasn't just giggling, she was laughing – even though she never moved her head from that comfy position on her mom's shoulder, showing how tired she really was.

"Hey, what did we miss?" Cassie called from the entrance of the living room, curious at what might have caused Caity to laugh.

"Uncle Jack's really funny!" Caity said giggling.

"Yeah," Cassie replied grinning, coming closer to stand next to Jack. "Most of the time anyway," Cassie continued, giving Caity a wink.

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Most of the time?"

"So?"

More laughter interrupted the little banter between Jack and Cassie, and this time it wasn't only Caity who laughed.

"Uhm, I guess we should be heading home," Sam finally said, feeling somewhat uneasy in the presence of Daniel.

In contrast to Caity, she hadn't forgotten that he was in the same room, and she hadn't forgotten what happened this morning. Teal'c, on the other hand, was fine. She had made eye-contact with him while Caity was talking with Jack and he'd silently showed her that he understood. And that he'd be there for her, if she needed him. After that, everyone else started pouring into the living room, leaving her no more time to think or contemplate anything.

"Why?" Caity whined. Although she might be tired – not that she'd ever admit anything like that though – she enjoyed herself and didn't want to leave. And she was pretty comfy where she was right now too.

"Because it's late and you're tired. And if we want to help tomorrow, you'll need to be well rested," Sam reasoned.

"But…" Caity started, but had to stop when the need to yawn widely overtook.

"See?" Sam said gently, smiling at her daughter.

"M'kay." Caity grumbled.

Of course, they couldn't leave before Caity said good night to everyone around. At least twice.

Though when they came to meet Daniel and Teal'c, she hesitated. There was Daniel, who she didn't like because of the way he acted this morning, but he did look kinda sorry and apologised to both her and her mom for his behaviour. Then there was Teal'c, who hadn't done anything wrong but he was _sooo BIG_ and looked scary too! Especially to an overtired 7-year-old girl. Thinking as hard as she was, she didn't even realised that everyone was basically staring at her, holding their breath, waiting to see what she'd do.

Finally, loyalty won over fear – and still being on her mom's arm helped too – she offered her hand to Teal'c, "Hi."

Gently taking her small hand into his big one, Teal'c bowed slightly, "Hello Caitlin Carter. It is a great honour to make your acquaintance."

Confused at Teal'c's words, Caity turned slightly to look at her mom and upon seeing her smile encouraging at her, she turned back towards Teal'c, smiling brilliantly at him. He might look big and scary, but he seemed to be nice! She knew he was working with her mommy, and now that she met him she was sure he'd protect her mommy from bullies. Yes, she really liked him! Surprising her mom and everyone else in the room, she leaned forward to kiss Teal'c on his cheek.

"Good night, Teal'c."

"Good night, Caitlin Carter," he replied sincerely, bowing his head once again.

Anyone taking a look around the room during that little interaction, would have seen Jack grinning cheekily, raising his eyebrows while looking at Sam, which caused her to shrug her shoulders in return; Janet and Cassie looking first at each other before breaking out in grins too; Jake smirking at Jocelyn and his sons before shaking his head at his niece antics; and Daniel smiling up at Sam too, though he was still unsure of himself.

"Finished!" Caity said, turning back to her mom, putting her head back down on her shoulder.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh."

Looking up at Daniel, Sam just shrugged her shoulders, if Caity didn't want to accept Daniel right now, then she wouldn't force her to. Caity was tired after all and they'd meet tomorrow again, so there'd be plenty of time to get to know each other. And if Sam was completely honest with herself, she didn't really mind Caity's reaction. Daniel _was_ pretty mean this morning after all!

xoxoxoxoxo

On Sunday morning, everyone was back at the Pullmans house. Today they'd take turns in keeping the twins busy, while Caity was allowed to roam around the house – as long as she listened to the adults and stayed out of the way if necessary. Strangely enough, Cassie and Keenan ended up working in the same rooms, though – to the amusement of the others – Janet and Jack would make sure they were never alone, even if Caity was the one keeping them company.

Sam and Daniel were a completely different matter. As soon as Sam and Caity arrived, Caity had greeted everyone enthusiastically but only managed a bored 'Hi' towards Daniel before running off. Knowing that they had to talk about yesterday and everything else, Sam suggested she and Daniel work in the guest room – alone – and talk. It took some awkward silence and even more awkward talking – especially on Daniel's side, as he knew he was the one who had acted wrong – but finally most of the animosities between them were gone.

Sam even recalled a couple of funny stories of both her children. This helped Daniel to understand her even better, to finally truly realise, and more important believe, that all Sam had done was about protecting her children. And Daniel couldn't find a single fault with that – and said so. By the time they finished with the guest room, their relationship was more or less back to normal. And both were glad about it.

Even Caity, seeing that her mom was comfortable around Daniel again, started to slowly warm up towards him. Especially after he apologised for his earlier behaviour – and it wasn't a simple apology either. In contrast, Daniel tried to make her understand why he felt the way he did and didn't just shrug her of as if she was too young to understand. And by the end of the day, Caity didn't ignore Daniel anymore, even though she still wasn't as enthusiastic towards him as she was towards everyone else.

The most remarkable sight of the day though were Lena and Maia interacting with Teal'c. After their nap after lunch they decided he wasn't as scary as he seemed in the beginning but rather good to play with – or more precisely to climb all over. So in the afternoon sun Teal'c could be found in the backyard with at least one girl clinging on him – and in the strangest positions too. Then it got really interesting when Caity decided she wanted to join into the fun too. So at one point, Caity was riding piggyback while each of the twins were standing on one of his feet, holding tightly onto his legs – each of them shrieking with laughter and screaming for Teal'c to go faster after this bird or that butterfly or whatever interesting thing they'd discover.

"I believe the children are in need of some nourishment," Teal'c finally said to Jocelyn, when she came to check on the kids and safe Teal'c if necessary.

Smiling at him, she said as if in deep thought, "I wonder if that ice-cream we brought is still around here…". This of course did the trick of freeing Teal'c from all three girls who now run towards Jocelyn.

"We help look!" Maia announced importantly, while her sister and Caity nodded vigorously.

The rest of the day went quite fast, but in the end they at least finished assembling all of the furniture and putting them in their right place, though it'd probably still take weeks till everything was actually _in_ the various closets, drawers or shelves.

After celebrating the accomplishments of the weekend with pizza for dinner – there was no way anyone was going to cook today – everyone got ready to leave for home. As Sam would start working again on Monday, though less hours for the time being, she made arrangements to bring Caity over in the morning, as Jocelyn wouldn't start her new job for another month. Cassie, having enjoyed herself a lot over the weekend – and not only due to a cute looking someone – offered to come over and help with the kids, so Jocelyn would have more time clearing out all the remaining boxes. Of course, nobody was fooled of her intentions but as school had just finished for the year and Cassie hadn't planned anything else yet, Janet found herself to agree quickly.

Once everyone had left, Jake got his wife and kids into the living room, everyone basically plopping down onto the couch – it was a tight fit but with Lena and Maia sprawled over everyone else it worked just fine – saying "Welcome to Colorado Springs!"

xoxoxoxoxo

The next couple of weeks saw a view changes within the SGC – and they all evolved around a certain Major.

First, Major Samantha Carter was back. People within the SGC had wondered where she was, as it was absolutely unheard of for her to take two long vacations within a rather short amount of time. Then again, she didn't look like she just returned from a long relaxing holiday. So people started to wonder and worry, causing them to watch even more closely to whatever evolved around her.

Second, Major Samantha Carter was never working late, but rather leaving early. Nevertheless, she managed to catch up with the heavy workload that found its way into her lab while she was away and still work on several projects simultaneously. But despite her shorter working hours, Sgt. Siler and most of the scientists – especially a certain Dr. Jay Felger – were more than happy to have her back.

Third, if even possible, SG-1 got more protective of Major Carter. It were only simple gestures, only recognisable if you have worked along them for quite some time, but they were still there.

Fourth, Colonel Jack O'Neill had apparently gotten himself a rival regarding a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed Major. Dr. Pullman was quite new to the SGC but nevertheless had already proven his worth – and he showed a lot of interest in Major Carter. Soon it was quite common to see her not only in the company of one or more members of SG-1, but also of Dr. Pullman. More so, both Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Pullman were frequently seen to pull out a small notebook, making a note as soon as they managed to get a smile from Major Carter – and they seemed to be unaware of the other man's efforts towards her. How else would you explain the unlikely friendship that seemed to develop between those two men?

It didn't take long for Major Ferretti to take bets on when Colonel O'Neill would learn about Dr. Pullman's intentions. A second – even more popular bet – was how exactly Colonel O'Neill would react when the first bet was solved! After everything that happened throughout the last couple of years within the SGC, it was no wonder that some of those ideas were rather creative, others were simple and quite obvious. Of course, the Goa'uld played a frequent role in those bets. Then again, a nice room with no security cameras was quite popular too. One more creative participant suggested Colonel O'Neill would send some rather impressive needles, big enough to only be available as customised products, to Dr. Frasier – in the name of Dr. Pullman. This of course would cause her to get mad at Dr. Pullman and she'd itch to use her new equipment on him. Knowing the history of said participant – who was nobody else than Sgt. Siler – and the amount of time he spent in the infirmary, it was clear how he came up with it.

But the most remarkable thing happening in the second week Major Carter was back, was SG-1 going on a 3-day mission without her. No explanations given. Just like that. And it started another betting pool about when her baby was due – followed by who exactly was the father. Yes, ever since Major Carter was back at the SGC the betting pools became more and more interesting!

Due to the absence of SG-1, Dr. Pullman was seen around Major Carter more often and the obvious closeness they showed towards each other, changed the 'Who-is-the-babies-father'-pool dramatically towards Dr. Pullman. In return, this caused more and more drastic ideas of how Colonel O'Neill would react to the news that Dr. Pullman was after Major Carter. Anyway, one thing was for sure, nobody could call anyone working at the SGC as being boring and without creativity!

The first time Janet learned about the latest betting pool, she couldn't believe it! They really though Sam was pregnant? And Jake was more than likely the father for her baby? The only thing she could do was to take a pillow, lock herself up in her office and … laugh. Hence the pillow. She didn't want anyone to start a pool on when exactly she was going to loose it after all.

Wow! Life was never boring around here! Still contemplating if she was sharing this latest development with Sam or not, she had to put this decision aside, when an unscheduled off-world activation was announced. As this quite often meant trouble as long as SG-teams – and especially SG-1 – were off-world, and both was the case at the moment, she grabbed the medical emergency supplies and headed for the gate room, the bet long forgotten.

Once she arrived there, it was quite obvious that for once there was no medical emergency. Relieved, she started to head back when she spotted Sgt. Siler coming from the control room.

"Sgt. Siler! Wait!"

"Ma'am? How can I help you?" Siler asked slightly confused.

"Uhm, do you know what the unscheduled off-world activation meant? Was someone coming through?"

"Yes, ma'am. The Tok'ra."

"Oh, okay. Thank you," Janet replied, before dismissing him.

Turning around to leave, Sgt. Siler thought otherwise and added "Uhm, General Carter was amongst them, too."

"Oh, this could get interesting…" Janet mumbled to herself, before leaving to find a phone to call both Sam and Jake. After all, what are friends for if not for warning each other of uncomfortable situations? Unfortunately, as soon as she entered the infirmary she had to tend to a medical emergency, as there was an accident in one of the science labs, giving her enough work for the next several hours.

_

* * *

A/N: Argh! I and Muse can't decide who is going to shock Jacob first – Sam with Caity or Jake! I have ideas for both, but haven't found a decent way to really shock Jacob twice, so only one version will work. LOL. BTW, if you find any major mistakes (like mixing up Keenan and David in the last chapter), feel free to point them out so I can correct them. Thanks! _

_Thanks again for all those reviews! Muse is already feeling better, but I still have to keep the chocolate within reach (and no, it's not because I'm addicted to chocolate. BAH!). Anyway, please keep the reviews coming! Muse loves them!_


	20. Chapter 20

"Jacob! It's good to see you." General Hammond greeted his old friend as soon as he entered the briefing room.

"George, it's good to be here."

"So, what can I do for you? Or maybe the Tok'ra?" General Hammond asked curiously.

"Both, actually," Jacob started. "But the Tok'ra business has time until tomorrow morning, when two of our scientists will arrive to discuss some of their recent research. Tonight, I'm here to spent some time with my daughter – and for a chance in a non-life threatening situation." Jacob continued, referring to their last meeting during the Goa'uld attack at the Tok'ra base on Revanna. They obviously didn't have much quality father-daughter time then.

"Taking the night off, I assume?" Hammond asked good-humoured.

"Yeah, the Tok'ra have a really bad understanding of free-time," Jacob replied smiling. "So, where is my little daughter? Please tell me she's not off-world at the moment," he continued concerned.

Chuckling, General Hammond replied, "No, she's not off-world."

"Good," he replied relieved. "So, where is she?"

"She already went home for the night," General Hammond replied, wondering how his friend would react to that, it _was_ very unusual after all.

"Excuse me?" Jacob asked confused, "Are we talking about the same person here?"

"Do you have another daughter that is working here?" Hammond asked amused.

"No, of course not. It's just… wow! That's unexpected," Jacob finally managed to say.

"Why don't you go by the infirmary and VIP-quarters while I organise an airman to drive you over?"

"Ah thanks, George. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely." He only hoped Jacob was still talking to him then, it would probably be a long night for his friend. And then there was still the business with Jake (Jr.). Yes, tomorrow would be very interesting indeed.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sighing, Jacob thanked the airman that drove him to his daughters house, before he went up to the front door. The house seemed eerily quiet and he hadn't seen her car in front of it. Luckily, he had his own set of keys, that she left at the SGC for him to take in situations like this.

Knocking, his first impression of Sam not being home was confirmed as nobody answered. So he took his key and entered his daughters home, wondering where she might be as she obviously had already left the SGC before he arrived. Once inside, he decided to first bring the small bag that contained a change of clothes into the guest room, before looking if he could find something eatable. Knowing his daughter, this might turn out difficult, but he could at least try.

Still deep in thoughts, he didn't look where he was going or he'd have seen the changes throughout the house that occurred since the last time he was here. He would have realised that the house actually looked lived in now. There were more photos on display, the kitchen and dining area looked like they were used frequently, and several cheerful pictures could be found at the fridge. There was also an unknown, albeit well-used looking blanket in one corner of the couch and a cuddly looking polar bear was sitting on the matching armchair, positioned like it was watching TV and assorted children's books were lying right next to it. And of course there was the rocking chair, that wasn't there before, once again a colourful blanked thrown over its backrest.

Without Selmak pointing out that they had reached the guest room, he'd probably had missed it too as he was still pondering where Sam might be. Opening the door, he entered and was about to put his bag next to the bed when he stopped in mid-motion.

"What the hell…" he said to no-one in particular when he saw himself confronted with what once was a simple guest room with a double bed, white walls, wardrobe and dresser. If Selmak wouldn't have reassured him that they were indeed in Sam's house, why else would the key fit in the lock after all, he'd have thought he mixed things up or something.

The room he was standing in now was the complete opposite to what he'd expected to see. The walls were painted in a warm yellow with pictures and posters all over the place. The double bed had changed into a loft-bed with lots of cushions in all shades of red plus several soft toys in the area below and a thick rug in front of it. There was also a small bookcase within reach of the cushioned area. The wardrobe and dresser were different too and next to the window there was a small desk that wasn't there before either. In addition, there was another, bigger bookcase and lots of small shelves with various items on them. Items that obviously belonged to a child. And a young one at that.

To say Jacob was speechless, would have been an utter understatement. What the hell had happened here? Suddenly he remembered something. A rumour he hadn't paid much attention too, as he was once again way too busy with his work. But now, with the help of Selmak's mind-probing, it came back full-force. Several years ago there was talking of Sam being pregnant – and her giving up the child for adoption. They rarely spoke at that time and he couldn't really imagine her giving up any child of her for adoption, or even being pregnant to be honest. So he did what he was really good at, ignoring the rumours and as they died down pretty fast, he simply forgot about it – until now that is.

With his mouth suddenly feeling very dry, he decided to get something to drink before drawing any further conclusions. Selmak, of course, just _had_ to point out that the conclusion was obvious – the rumours were right, Sam _was_ pregnant at that time and was apparently living with her child now. Though even Selmak couldn't explain why Sam never mentioned anything or where the child had been living until now.

Walking through the house, he now saw the changes he had missed before – or better Selmak pointed them out to him as he still seemed to be in shock. Entering the kitchen, he got himself a glass of water, before taking a closer look at the various drawings on the fridge. One depicted a lake and two people fishing – but no fish. What really caught his eye though were the slightly uneven names written above the two persons – Mommy and Caity. Well, it looked like he had another grand-daughter.

He was about to leave the kitchen and take a closer look around the living room, when he heard the front-door open – well, Selmak pointed it out to him as he was still trying to comprehend what he had learned.

"Can you bring this in the kitchen, please?" Jacob heard is daughter say, once again confirming that he _was_ in the right house, as strange as the situation might be.

"Yep!" replied an enthusiastic voice, his grand-daughters voice, he thought with awe.

Then he heard footsteps running towards him, soon followed by a little girl with short, slightly curled dark-brown hair – who stopped completely once she spotted him standing in the kitchen entrance. Not that Jacob was able to move either, he was too mesmerised by the big blue eyes – his daughter's eyes – staring up at him.

"Ops!" Caity called surprised. And where her eyes showed confusion just moments before, there was now recognition starting to show, mixed up with a lot of curiosity.

Still mesmerised by those expressive eyes, Jacob didn't even see Sam coming up behind Caity, but Caity did. Well, she knew her mom was coming up behind her as she had been following his, even though she obviously couldn't see her. Turning around, Caity looked up at her mom, who bore an equal shocked expression to the man she recognised as her granddad, and all but yelled, "BUSTED!"

Looking from one to the other, observing all the expression crossing their faces in fast succession, Caity couldn't help but giggle. Grown-ups can look so funny sometimes!

"Hi dad! Uhm… surprise?" Sam, finally managed to choke out, afraid of her dad's reaction.

Clearing his throat once … and again, Jacob finally managed to reply.

"You could say so."

"Uhm, let's talk?" Sam asked insecure, suddenly feeling like a little girl again, who had done something wrong.

"Sounds like a good idea," Jacob replied non-commitedly. "You might want to put those bags down first, though," he added – well, after Selmak pointed it out to him, as he was still too shocked to think clearly.

"Uhm, yeah, sure."

So while Jacob went in the living room, Sam tried to busy herself by putting the groceries away. Caity, having observed the rather strange conversation between her mom and her granddad, went over to Sam and touched her lightly on the arm.

"Mommy? You okay?" she asked concerned, as her mom did seem quite confused.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Sam replied, hugging her daughter close, drawing strength from her for the things to come.

"Good," Caity replied relieved. She was still concerned about her mommy, especially when she found her crying or with that sad look in her eyes. But right now she seemed more nervous than sad, which was not too bad, in Caity's books anyway.

"You okay with your granddad being here?" Sam asked nervously.

"Yep! Do you think he wants something to drink? I could make something, you know," Caity offered generously. She was a big girl after all!

"That would be nice, sweety. Thank you." Sam replied, hugging her daughter once again before turning to face her dad. It would also give her some time alone with her dad.

"So… I kinda feel like I'm missing something," Jacob started as soon as Sam joined him in the living room.

Jacob was walking up and down in front of the couch and wouldn't it be for Selmak's calming influence he'd probably be screaming at Sam right now. How could she have kept his grand-daughter from him for such a long time? Especially after they'd gotten close again after his joining with Selmak. He just couldn't understand and was deeply hurt by his daughter's actions.

"It's complicated," Sam started, getting into a defensive position right from the start.

"How can telling me about my granddaughter be complicated?" came Jacob's heated reply, even Selmak couldn't control his temper now.

"Please!"

Hearing the desperation, the pain in this one simple word, Jacob stopped pacing and looked at his daughter – and he was lost. He had never seen that much desperation in her eyes, not even after her mom, his beloved wife, had died all those years ago. All his anger towards her suddenly vanished and all he wanted to do was make everything better. Stepping towards her, he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Was all Sam managed to say.

"I know. It's okay," Jacob tried to reassure her, while rubbing her back soothingly. Sam might be all grown-up, but she was still and would ever be his little girl and he couldn't stand to see her suffer. Therefore he kept rubbing her back, trying to comfort her like he had when she was but a little girl.

"Thanks," Sam finally said, before sitting down on the couch, pulling Jacob with her to sit next to her. Turning so she would face him, she was just about to say something, when Caity entered the room, carrying a small tray with three Winnie-the-Pooh drinking cups and … three pieces of chocolate. After carefully putting the tray on the coffee table, Caity stood up and – tilting her head slightly in a very Teal'c-like manner – looked closely at the two adults.

"You're not mad at mommy, right?" she suddenly asked Jacob, while moving to stand defensively in front of her mommy, hands resting on her hips. "'Cause Uncle Daniel was and he was a big meany and I didn't like him," she continued with furrowed eyebrows, before adding generously, "But he's okay now, I guess. He knows some really cool stories of mummies and stuff!"

Jacob couldn't help himself but rapidly fall in love with the little girl in front of him. Her posture remembered him so much of Sam when she was this age, he almost thought he had gone back in time. Of course, Selmak had to comment on that, causing Jacob to mentally roll his eyes at Selmak. Yet, he could tell Selmak was just as smitten with the little girl like he was.

"No, I'm not mad at your mommy," he finally said, smiling at his granddaughter.

"Good," Caity replied seriously, nodding satisfied.

Then she turned into the sweetest little girl Jacob had ever seen – in his mind anyway, asking, "Would you like some orange juice? Uhm, I'm not allowed to get into the upper kitchen cabinets to get glasses, so I took some of my drinking cups."

"I would love to have some, thank you," he replied grinning.

Grinning back at him, Caity carefully handed one of the cups over. She liked her grandpa already. "I also brought some chocolate. Uncle Jack said chocolate always makes people happy." Not seeing the look Jacob gave Sam at that, Caity continued with twinkling eyes, "He told me he always has some with him for mommy, 'specially when he's done something wrong or broke some of her doo… doo-thingies."

Jacob, who was just about to drink, spit orange juice all over the place at that particular little revelation – as would have Sam if she hadn't already had finished her juice. Oblivious to the reason for Jacob's trouble, Caity came to stand directly in front of him, asking concerned, "Are you okay, Grandpa? Don't you like the orange juice?"

Coughing, Jacob replied weakly, "No, no. I'm fine. Just got some juice into the wrong pipe." Seeing that Caity was not too convinced by his answer, he tried to distract her.

"So, do you think you can tell me your name or is it a … secret." Jacob asked, whispering the last word as if he'd make sure no-one else was listening in on them – and technically, there wasn't anyone around as Sam had left to get a cloth to the clean the mess he just made. And though he had seen her name written on that one picture in the kitchen, he still liked to hear it from her.

Giggling, Caity replied proudly, "My name is Caitlin Hope Carter. But you can call me Caity."

"That is a pretty nice name, Caity." Jacob replied, trying out his granddaughter's name for the first time.

"Thank you," she replied sweetly, before climbing up into her, by her actions delighted, granddad's lap. Making herself comfortable, she continued, "I like it too."

Not knowing what else to say, Jacob thought he'd be on safe ground by asking about the pictures he had seen in the kitchen.

"Hey Caity," he started to get her attention. "Did you draw the beautiful picture with the lake and you and your mom fishing?"

"Uh huh. Do you like it?"

"Yep. So, do you like fishing?" he asked curiously.

"Yay!" she replied enthusiastically. "Me and mommy drove really, really far to Uncle Jack's cabin. You can do lots of cool stuff there. Like fishing, climbing trees and walking in the woods! And we found lots and lots of animal tracks! We even saw some bear tracks, but mommy said they were pretty old already. And one morning we got up really, really early and watched the sunrise and there were lots of deer on the other side of the lake!"

"Uncle Jack's cabin, huh?" he asked Caity, while looking at Sam who had joined them on the couch again, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Yeah. Do you know Uncle Jack? He's a friend of mommy and really funny!" Caity answered, nodding vigorously and once again oblivious to both her mother's and granddad's reaction to her words.

"Uhm, sure do I know him," Jacob replied mildly curious of the things to come.

"Do you like him?" Caity asked, though she continued before Jacob could answer. "Because I do. But it's really sad that he has no-one to take care of him. When mommy slept with him, me and Auntie Janet didn't find much food for breakfast. Only some yucky looking toast and Fruit loops." Remembering that particular incident, Caity wrinkled her nose in disgust before continuing. "But me and Auntie Janet went shopping and made yummy chicken for everyone. And he's really fun to play with too! When he came for dinner we had a really big tickle-fight and I almost won, but then mommy tried to make us stop and me and Uncle Jack had to tickle mommy until she gave up! Right mommy?"

"Uhm… yeah," Sam mumbled. What else could she say? Sam had started to blush as soon as Caity mentioned their overnight stay at her CO's house and never stopped since than. Her dad had long stopped to watch his granddaughter and all but stared at Sam. His expression would have been very funny, with the way his eyes almost fell out of their sockets and all, if the situation would have been different. But it wasn't, so all Sam could do was avoiding to directly look at him.

"Mommy? Are you ill?" Caity suddenly asked, once she saw just how red her mommy's face was.

"No sweety, I'm fine. Maybe a bit hot though." Sam tried to reassure her daughter, while she was still avoiding her dad's searching eyes.

"Really?" Caity asked, still not convinced.

"Yes, really. Uhm… I better go and get dinner started," Sam replied, stubbornly avoiding eye-contact with her dad. Knowing she was being a coward to be leaving like that, she did it anyway. She needed time to get her thoughts in order again and Caity's curiosity towards her new-found granddad gave Sam the opportunity to do just that.

"Okay." Caity said to her mommy, before turning to look at her grandpa again. Usually she would have helped her mommy with dinner, but now she was far more interested in her grandpa. Maybe he would like to see her room? She and her mommy had just finished it the other day and she was really proud of it. Especially as she had helped a lot.

"Grandpa, do you want to see my room? Me and mommy made it all alone and I helped a lot!"

Seeing the hope he would agree in Caity's eyes, there was no way Jacob could have declined her request.

"Sure, I'd love to!" he replied. He waited till Caity stood up, than he followed suit but before Caity could walk away from him, he grabbed her and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder – very much to the delight of his granddaughter of course.

Squealing with delight, Caity told him nevertheless where he had to go, and therefore clearly telling him that she was only on his shoulder because she wanted to. This reminded him so much of Sam when she was Caity's age, that Jacob couldn't help but chuckle at the fond memories. When they reached Caity's room, he carefully put her down and let her lead the way into her room.

Having already been there what seemed like half a lifetime ago, even though not much more than an hour had passed since then, Jacob concentrated more on the details now. Seeing a photograph of a couple with Caity standing in-between them, he went to pick it up and ask Caity about it.

"That's my mom and dad. But they are with grandma now," Caity said sadly, looking up at him with big tearful eyes. "I still miss them."

Seeing her distress, Jacob did the first thing that came to his mind. He picked Caity up and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly, whispering silly but nevertheless comforting things into her ear. Caity, who had her head buried in the crook of his neck, finally sighed, motioning to another picture. This one showed a boy in about Caity's age – but he looked exactly like Sam.

So with his comfort-seeking granddaughter buried against him, Jacob learned about the grandson he'd never met – and never would…

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Sam was in the kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dinner. Despite the rumours, Sam actually _could_ cook – she just never did before as she had no reason to. When Caity was still living with Susan and Aaron and she had still hope of finding her son alive, cooking just reminded her of what exactly she was missing. And that simply hurt too much, so she just stopped cooking and started to live mainly on take-away. Not that she was home long enough to cook anyway.

But now things were different. Now her son was gone, but she still had her daughter who needed regular and healthy meals. So she did the only logical thing, she dug out her old recipe collection and started cooking again. Though tonight it definitely had to be something simple, because her mind was still elsewhere.

She had just decided on what to make for dinner, when she heard someone knock at the front door. Putting the groceries aside she had just taken out of the fridge, she went to see who was there. With SG-1 being off-world, Janet having to work a double-shift and her brother having plans too, she had really no idea who her visitor could be.

Opening the front door, she groaned, saying the first thing that came to her mind.

"Oh 'fer crying out loud! Could someone just shoot me, _please_?"

_

* * *

_

_A/N: Hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing it – especially Caity! _

_Once again, thanks to all those who reviewed so far! Now, push that little button and tell me what you think… maybe as little birthday present? Muse wasn't getting any chocolate during writing this chapter, I kept it all to myself – getting a year older does this sort of thing to me! LOL_


	21. Chapter 21

_Previously:_

_Opening the front door, she groaned, saying the first thing that came to her mind._

_"Oh 'fer crying out loud! Could someone just shoot me, _please

**Chapter 21**

Turning around to see if someone was behind him, her visitor raised his eyebrows questioningly. Okay, he hadn't called and he was sure she wasn't expecting him, but the reaction he got was still … well, strange. But before he could ask what was going on, the door opened further and he found himself catching Caity, who was jumping up at him.

"Uncle Jack! Uncle Jack!"

"Hey Caity. It's good to see that at least one person is happy to see me." Jack replied smiling at the girl in his arms. He couldn't help himself, he was in love. Deeply in love.

"Mommy said you had to work till t'morrow!" Caity asked slightly confused. "You haven't been bad and got a time-out, right?" she continued concerned. She knew that happened sometimes in school, when someone did something really bad he had to go home and wasn't allowed back for a couple of days.

Chuckling, her dad forgotten for the time being, Sam stepped aside to let him enter the house.

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad!" Jack protested, looking accusingly at Sam. Then he looked back at Caity and continued, smiling, "No munchkin, I was really _good_ and could leave earlier because of this!"

That said, Jack looked up at Sam triumphantly. He could play this game too!

"Oookay," Sam replied, rolling her eyes at him before leading him into the living room.

"So, Sam. What was that about … ah, _you-know-what-_you at the front door?" Jack asked, censoring himself when he remembered Caity on his arm.

"OH!" Sam answered, remembering just why she had reacted the way she had – and turning white as a sheet. She had completely forgotten about her dad! Who, of course, choose that moment to enter the room.

"Sam? Do you know where … ." Jacob started but stopped as soon as he saw Jack in the living room.

"Hey… DAD!" Jack said surprised, his eyebrows doing their best to reach his hair line. "Long time no see!" he added flippantly, having gotten his surprise back under control. But just to be sure, he tightened his hold onto Jacob's granddaughter. He wouldn't kill him with her on his arm, right?

"Dad?" Caity asked confused. "Is grandpa your dad too, Uncle Jack?"

"Uhm, no. Not really." Jack said looking straight back at the way too curious girl in his arm. Not that he was avoiding to look at either Carter or Jacob. No, it was just polite to look at the person you're talking with, right?

"Oh." Caity replied, trying to understand it. When she didn't, she asked another question – and a very logical one too.

"Does that mean you are marrying mommy?" And just to be sure, she added as an afterthought. "I wouldn't mind, you know."

"WHAT?" came the instantaneous and very loud reply from all three adults in the room. And Sam wasn't the only one blushing furiously ... .  
Jack didn't know how to reply to that and did the first thing that came to his mind – he sat down. After all, he didn't want Caity to fall down when he had a heart attack, and with her being a Carter and the daughter of her mother that was easily possible. Only god knew what she'd say next. Sam and Jacob seemed to have thought so too, because they sat down as well.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked Jack, her lower lip trembling dangerously when she looked up at him before putting her head onto his shoulder. The yelling had scared her a bit, even though nobody _looked_ mad.

"No, of course not!" Jack replied, kissing the top of her head and stroking her back comfortingly. "No one is mad at you. We were just surprised. But why did you think I'd marry your mom?"

"Because you called grandpa 'dad' and then you said he isn't your dad," Caity said, as if this would clearly explain everything.

"So?"

"Well, Uncle Jake calls Grandpa Mike 'dad'. And Grandpa Mike said it's okay for Uncle Jake to call him that because he married his daughter and that makes him his son too." Caity explained patiently, her head still safely tucked under Jack's chin.

"Wow. That… actually makes sense." Jack finally replied surprised. Then again, Caity was Sam's daughter so he should have expected something like that.

During the whole conversation, Sam – apart from blushing more and more brightly – tried to magically vanish into thin air. Unfortunately, she had yet to learn this ability, maybe she should visit the Nox one of these days? Or if Narim would still be alive, she'd surely be ably to get the phase-shifting technology from him and while she wouldn't be able to vanish into thin air, she could at least let herself slowly sink through the couch and floor into the basement. And just as she thought things couldn't get worse – they did.

"Caity, so you wouldn't mind if Jack marries your mom?" Jacob – or rather Selmak using Jacob's voice – asked. Selmak had listened to the conversation and very much enjoyed it, even if Jacob wasn't exactly happy about the way it went. But Selmak being Selmak and loving to cause a bit of mischief now and then, decided to take over and have a bit of fun of his own. Well, Jacob might not be easy to live with for a while, but it was definitely worth it!

After hearing her dad voicing this questions, Sam's head shot up and she looked incredulously at him – mouth gaping open in shock. Had he lost his mind or something? How could he ask this question?

"Nope."

"Why?" Selmak still playing 'being Jacob' asked curiously – and leaving both Sam and Jack speechless.

"'Cause I like him. And mommy cooks way better than him, so he gets to eat healthy food and isn't becoming fat," Caity replied seriously.

"Hey!" Jack replied indignantly. "I'm right here! And I'm not getting fat."

"Uh huh." Caity replied while moving to look up at him. "Auntie Janet said so!"

Caity knew her Auntie Janet wouldn't lie to her, and she was a doctor too! So she would know things like this, right? And as Caity really liked her Uncle Jack because he was funny and played with her and made her mommy smile, Caity often invited him for dinner or asked her mommy if they could do so. _She_ didn't want him all fat and getting sick because he couldn't take care of himself. Of course, he also couldn't play with her when he was sick…

By now Sam had given up trying to vanish into thin air and after deciding she wouldn't die of embarrassment – at least not immediately – she started to watch Caity interacting with her CO. Even though she didn't feel the smile that crept into her face, her dad did. He should have been worried, but he suddenly realised that it was the first true smile he saw – and he forgave Selmak for taking over his body. Well, almost anyway. He was making sure to get a least several cups of coffee – something Selmak didn't like at all – out of this. But for now, he would lean back and enjoy the little play in front of him.

"She said I'm getting fat?"

"Yep."

"Did _she_ say I can't cook?"

"Uh huh. She said you can only burn meat on your barbeque. And that's not healthy." Caity replied seriously.

"Bah. She just doesn't know what's good for me," Jack replied hurt.

"But she's a doctor!" Caity exclaimed.

"So?" Jack asked stubbornly.

"Doctors learn this stuff, silly!" Caity answered patiently, patting Jack's cheek sympathetically. Sometimes adults were just weird.

"Silly? Did you just call me silly?" Jack asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Of course not!" Caity replied indignantly, before continuing - and trying to suppress the giggles that wanted to escape. "Must be all that unhealthy food getting to your ears!"

After his eyebrows had an interesting meeting with his hair line, he finally replied. "Smart-ass!"

"Uh oh. Bad word." Caity replied wide-eyed.

"So?" Jack answered grinning.

"No dessert." Caity replied, this time giving in into the giggles. She knew how much he loved dessert after all! And she couldn't blame him, because it was her favourite meal too!

"That's just mean!" Jack said, before starting to tickle her sides. "That calls for retaliation!"

Soon enough, Caity was laughing heartily while trying to get away from Jack. Which of course didn't work as he obviously had a couple of pounds on her. Letting them be for the time being, Jacob moved next to his daughter on the couch.

"Hey," Jacob started, distracting her from watching the other two. "Jack is really good with her."

"Yeah, Jack has been a great help." Sam replied, still smiling at the two without realising it.

Jacob was just about to reply, when he was interrupted by Caity.

"Mommy! Grandpa! Help! Please save me from the tickle monster!" she pleaded, still laughing hard.

Shaking her head, Sam stood up and went over to where Jack and Caity were sitting, pealing Caity off of Jack.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Caity, safely nestled against her mom, announced once she had calmed down a bit.

"Oh right, dinner! I forgot about that," Sam answered guiltily. Well, she _was_ going to cook, but the arrival of her CO had kinda interrupted her plans.

"Don't worry. I can help you," Caity offered generously. "But we have to make enough for grandpa and Uncle Jack, right?" she continued pleading.

"Riiight…" Sam answered, not being able to resist _The Look_ from her daughter. Then again, her daughter also gave her the perfect excuse to leave the room – and the two men inside – behind.

"We are going to make dinner. Have fun!" And with that she was gone. And fast at that – leaving the two perplexed men alone.

xoxoxoxoxo

"So, I've heard you've been sleeping with my daughter?" Jacob said after Sam had left them. Well, Selmak already had his fun, now it was his turn.

"What?" Jack all but … squeaked.

"Caity told me you slept with her mom – _my daughter_ – … and didn't even have any decent breakfast around," Jacob continued, enjoying himself tremendously. Who would have thought that Jack could actually squeak? Too bad he didn't have any camera around to tape it.

"Oh, that." Jack finally managed to say. He remembered that day all too well, and though he had to admit that it was actually nice to have Sam sleeping on his side, he'd never forget just why she had been there with him. And he'd give up everything if there was only the slightest chance it'd prevented Sam of having to go through her son's death.

Seeing the emotions crossing Jack's face, which was a rare event in itself, Jacob sobered quickly. He suddenly knew there wasn't anything fun involved in that story, that there was no reason to tease neither Jack nor Sam with this. With Selmak's help everything fell into place quite nicely. Jacob knew Jack had lost a son – as had Sam. And suddenly he needed to know everything. Caity only told him that her big brother vanished before she was born and was with her parents now, watching over her and her mommy, and then she had asked him innocently if he thought that her grandma was there too. Soon after, Jack had turned up and he somehow forgot the whole thing – after all, it was much easier to do that than to think of what his daughter had to go through in all those years. Without him. But now, everything came back full force and he needed to know more. How had Caity called her brother? Right.

"David?"

"Yeah," Jack replied quietly.

"What happened?" Jacob asked, and seeing Jack's questioning look he continued, "Caity showed me her room. And her photos. She told me about her parents – a concept I really don't understand either – and then she showed me a picture of her brother. God, he looked just like Sam when she was his age."

Jack tried to contemplate what to do. Sam clearly needed to talk to her dad, but he also understood how hard everything was on her. Then again, judging by the pleading look Jacob gave him, he needed to get answers too. Now. You could practically see how he was beating himself up for not knowing about what his daughter was going through all those years. Still… it was something Sam had to do.

"Jacob," Jack started hesitantly.

"Jack, don't. Just tell me what happened to my grandson. Please!" Jacob all but pleaded.

Looking at Jacob for a long time, seeing the pain behind his eyes, he finally decided to tell Jacob the basic story.

Sighing deeply, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face, he finally started, "A couple of weeks ago I found Sam on my roof, spotting something in her eyes I hoped I'd never have to see again…"

Once more, Jacob was glad to have Selmak, as he was giving him the silent support he needed, while Jack told him how he found Sam on his roof on the day of David's funeral. He had never felt that helpless in his life, but was also glad when he learned about his son's big part in helping Sam through everything, knowing about the special bond those two shared since Sam was born on Jake's sixth birthday. It had hurt to see that relationship go downhill after Jake left his family, but as Jacob was in too much pain at that time himself, he couldn't do anything about it. Nevertheless, after all what he had learned today and even though his son was still not talking to him, he was more than proud of him. And maybe, just maybe, Jake would finally give him another chance.

"Thanks." Jacob said seriously once Jack had finished. And it wasn't just for talking to him.

Jacob still had a lot of questions – Jack had only scratched the surface after all – and he knew Jack could at least answer some of them, but he also understood his reluctance to do just that. It was something he had to talk to Sam about. Thinking back over the days events, he suddenly remembered the sad look George gave him, even though he thought he'd just imagined it until now. Also, he realised that he hadn't just imagined Sam's weight loss or that Sam's pale complexion had nothing to do with her being underground too much. No, these things all mirrored the emotional roller coaster she must have been on over those last few weeks. And once more, he was glad that Jack's antics with Caity had made Sam smile. Because that was surely something she hadn't done a lot in the recent past.

Looking over at Jack, Jacob saw that he was deep in thought as well. Now, that Sam wasn't in the room and he apparently didn't feel the need of schooling his expression, Jacob could also see the signs of concern clearly written all over Jack's face. Wondering if there was more to it, but not really wanting to think about it right now, Jacob allowed his focus to drift again and he concentrated on the muffled voices coming from the kitchen instead. Smiling when he mainly heard Caity's excited voice, even though he couldn't understand what it was exactly that she was saying, Jacob allowed his thoughts to go to his newly discovered granddaughter.

She was definitely … cheeky! She remembered him so much of Sam when she was her age, it was almost scary – especially as living with a 7-year old Sam was nothing but … interesting! Add her getting along with Jack O'Neill into the mix, and this called for nothing but mischief and trouble. Mischief, he already got a glimpse of today – and this was even more scary than her reminding him so much of his own mischievous little daughter. Because the trouble had just doubled. And judging by Selmak's chuckling, he wasn't the only one to think so. When he looked back over at Jack, seeing the smile gracing his lips while he looked into the general direction of the kitchen, Jacob could tell that he too was thinking about the two persons in the kitchen.

"You love her," Jacob stated, after observing him for a couple of more minutes.

"Yeah, well. I mean, have you seen those eyes? It's hard, if not impossible, to resist them." Jack answered.

"Seems like the feelings are mutual."

"You think?" Jack replied, a grin starting to spread over his face.

"No. But Selmak does." Jacob replied, sighing deeply.

"Oh…"

Interestingly enough, non of them dared to ask _who_ exactly each of them was talking about at that moment. Luckily, both were saved from said thoughts by Caity arriving in the room.

"Dinner is ready!" she called cheerfully.

"Great!" both men replied enthusiastically, although not because they were hungry – well, maybe they were – but mainly because Caity just saved them from an awkward silence.

"Hey! Watcha think you're doing?" Caity asked sternly, hands firmly placed on her hips, when both men headed straight for the already set table.

"Huh?"

"Didn't your mom teach you to wash your hands before eating?" Caity asked, rolling her eyes at both of them.

"Did she just…" Jacob said incredulously, looking at Jack for conformation.

"Yep." Jack replied flippantly, before heading for the bathroom, mumbling, "And here comes another Napoleonic powermonger!"

Dinner was a fairly interesting occasion, though Jacob still couldn't quite understand how Caity managed to eat heartily and still maintain a constant chatter. Once dinner was finished, Jack offered to do the dishes but Sam declined. She needed some time to collect her thoughts, to prepare for the things to come. Understanding her completely, Jack asked Caity if she was going to show him her finished room soon or if he would have to die of curiosity. Laughing at that, Caity took his hand and pulled him towards her room, leaving Jacob alone.

After all the dishes were done and the kitchen spotless once again, Sam had no choice but to join her dad in the living room. She knew Jack would keep Caity occupied and was once again grateful for all the things he had done for her in the past. But this conversation was something he couldn't do for her, so taking a deep breath, she finally entered the room.

"Dad, I… " she started, but couldn't finish as tears somehow found the way into her eyes. Damn, she really didn't need them right now, she thought angrily, trying to blink them away. But apparently, they had a mind of their own and started flowing freely now.

Seeing Sam loosing the fight against her tears, Jacob went to her, wordlessly pulling her into a tight hug. Slowly moving them over to the couch, he once again wished could take all her pain away.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Sam managed to choke out in between sobs.

"Ssh, it's okay. Everything will be okay," Jacob repeated over and over again, stroking her back comfortingly. And somehow both knew, that this was the truth.

When Sam finally calmed down, she was surprised how good she felt – despite the crying fit she just experienced. And still being in her father's arms, she also felt safe – and so she started to tell him about his grandkids, what they loved, what the hated – and how his grandson died.

Hours later, she was both mentally and physically exhausted, but felt like a big weight had been finally taken off her shoulder. Until now, she hadn't realised just how much guilt she felt about not telling her dad about her kids, no matter the reasons behind it. And she was glad that he wasn't mad at her, something she would have understood – and truth be told, also had expected. Instead, they were sitting in silence, drawing comfort from each other. When Sam finally look at her watch for the first time, it was well past midnight.

"Oh! It's way past Caity's bedtime!" Sam exclaimed guiltily.

"Relax, Sam. I'm sure Jack made sure she was in bed on time." Jacob tried to reassure her, though he didn't want to think about just what let him be so sure. "Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"

When they entered Caity's room, Sam couldn't help but smile – and neither could Jacob. Caity was safely tucked in bed, her beloved polar bear in one arm, and she was sleeping peacefully. And Jack, well, he was sprawled out onto the cushions below Caity's loft-bed, his head framed by various soft toys, and he was snoring lightly. Looking at her dad, Sam motioned for him to follow her outside, where she grabbed a blanket to spread over her CO. Once she finished, she carefully closed the door to her daughters room, grabbed another blanket and pillow and followed her dad downstairs again.

"So, I guess I get the couch?"

"Yeah, well, sorry about that. I was going to turn the spare room into a guest room, but haven't quite managed to get all the boxes moved out of it yet." Sam started to apologise.

"Hey, don't worry. Selmak and I have slept on much worse places. We'll be fine."

"Sure?"

"Absolutely." Jacob replied smiling.

"Okay, well, good night then," Sam said hesitantly.

"Come here," Jacob said, pulling his daughter into another hug. "I love you."

"Thanks. I love you too."

"Good. Now go to bed." Jacob ordered Sam, though the smile betrayed his tone.

"Yes, sir!" Sam replied smiling, before heading to her bedroom to catch some quality sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Once again, Muse got carried away a bit. I hope you still like it though! That said, don't forget to review, please! Thanks!_


	22. Chapter 22

Giggling. 

Huh? Giggling? Jack was barely awake and he was confused. But also comfortable, it felt like he – though he was definitely not in his bed – was lying on his back on some pretty comfortable surface. And though he really couldn't explain it, he new he was absolutely safe here. Wherever here was. Hence, the confusion. And where did the giggling come from anyway? So no matter how comfortable and safe he felt, he decided to better take a peek, just to be on the safe side.

Carefully cracking one eye open – after all, he wasn't special ops for nothing– he took a look around, and found himself eye-to-eye with several small soft toys that were sitting on his chest. Literally. And as his chest moved while he breathed, they moved up and down too. Then, on his next breath, the little … whatever on the far left fell off his chest – and the giggling started again.

Moving his head ever so slightly, he could finally see Caity, who was sitting cross-legged next to him, holding both her hands across her mouth to – unsuccessfully - silence her giggles. Jack was completely mesmerised by the laughing girl, who's face was framed by unruly hair that had yet to be combed and was still wearing her pajamas.

But as much as he would have loved to watch her longer, he also needed to pee. And rather sooner than later. So when Caity carefully leaned over him to retrieve the fallen toy from his other side, he crabbed her and held her high above him in his outstretched arms. Shocked at first, Caity recovered within a few seconds and started to laugh heartily.

"Morning." Jack said smiling up at her.

"Morning, Uncle Jack," Caity replied sweetly.

"So, are you going to tell me what exactly you were doing?"

"Nope," she replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"No?" he asked incredulously. "Then you have to stay up there!"

Giggling once again, Caity started to wriggle in his arms and though she wasn't that heavy, it became more and more difficult for Jack to hold her up. Finally giving in to his tiring arms, Jack brought her down, giving her a quick morning kiss on the forehead and then did a fancy move so that Caity ended up being the one lying on the cushions and the blanket he was covered with while he was sort of kneeling next to her. Caity was literally stunned by the speed of his moves, so that she didn't even realise what happened until Jack started to tickle her.

Screeching with laughter, Caity wriggled under Jack's arms, kicking with both her legs until Jack suddenly stopped. Apparently one of her feet had connected with a rather sensitive part of Jack's anatomy. Though she didn't hit him full force, it was still quite painful and Jack needed to take a couple of deep breaths to recover.

"Uncle Jack? You okay?" Caity asked concerned when he suddenly stopped moving, looking rather unhappy.

"Fine." He mumbled.

"Then why are you sweating?" she continued, while sitting up and crouching next to him.

"Oh. Uhm… I guess I shouldn't have slept in my clothes," he explained lamely, once he had recovered.

"Oh. Okay." Caity replied, pondering his reply.

Jack could clearly see the wheels turning in her head, and she looked very much like her mom when she was thinking of yet another way to save their collective asses. When it was apparent that she was going to ask another question, he decided to change the topic.

"So, what do you think about we go downstairs and make breakfast for everyone?" He was clearly proud with his suggestion, as he was both hungry, it was close to breakfast time anyway, but he could also use the opportunity to show that he could indeed cook something else than meat on his barbecue! "What do you think? We could surprise your mom and grandpa."

"Yay!" Caity said enthusiastically, the question she wanted to ask forgotten. She was going to cook with Uncle Jack!

Looking critically at Caity's pajama and seeing that she was wearing some of those strange socks that were supposed to prevent you from slipping, he decided she would be fine for the time being.

"Okay then. But we have to be quiet to not wake your mom. Or your grandpa."

"Uh huh. Uhm, carry me?" Caity asked, looking pleadingly up at him.

Not being able to resist her, he said, "Okay, but first I need a little stop at the bathroom."

"Gotta pee?" she asked giggling. _She_ already went when she woke up, before she started to play with her toys.

Once again being left speechless, Jack just shook his head in played exasperation. If his hair wouldn't already be grey, it'd sure be after spending too much time with her!

With Caity riding piggyback, Jack moved stealthily through the living room – where Jacob was still asleep – towards the kitchen, where Jack put Caity onto the kitchen counter. Turning around to face her, he asked, "So, watcha think about pancakes?"

"Yummy!" Caity exclaimed happily.

"Yummy? Hm, sounds like you like them. So pancakes it is!" Jack replied cheerfully.

"Nope."

"Huh?" Jack asked confused. "Didn't you just say you like them?"

"Yep." Caity replied giggling.

"Okay, I'm officially lost," Jack said, sighing theatrically.

"It's Thursday, so I want porridge!"

"You want what?" She couldn't really want this, right? "You sure you want porridge? That slimy stuff that sticks to your spoon like forever?"

"Uh huh," Caity replied, nodding vigorously. "Mommy makes yummy porridge. And if you put sugar on it, it melts and tastes really good! Or you can put syrup on it, or fruits, or honey and all sorts of other stuff!" Caity continued, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Sighing, and this time there was nothing theatrically about it, after all, how could she be that excited about something disgusting as far as he was concerned, he conceded. "Okay, we'll make porridge. But you'll have to help me with it!"

"Yay! Don't worry, I'll show you how to make it," Caity said, patting his hand that was resting on the kitchen counter next to her lightly.

"Though I don't know if your grandpa likes porridge, so I better make some pancakes too," Jack added thoughtfully. Hey, he was just concerned about Jacob's well-being! And if there happened to be a couple of pancakes left, he might as well help Jacob finishing them. He wouldn't want to waste them after all!

Thinking about it, Caity finally nodded her approval.

So taking directions from Caity, he gathered everything he needed and started to make the pancake mix. Well, after he started the coffee machine that is. He wouldn't want Sam turning up with the coffee not being ready yet. Now _that_ was a kinda scary thought!

Once that was done, he listen to Caity's instructions on how to make her porridge and decided he could do both at once – with a little help that is. So he moved everything over to the kitchen stove – including Caity.

"So, watcha wanna do? Stir the porridge or pour the pancake mix?" Jack asked once everything was set up. He figured it'd be safe enough for her to help with the task, especially as he would be standing close by.

"Uhm, I dunno," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So how about stirring the porridge? Because you definitely know much more about it than I!" Jack replied after seeing how she kept looking towards the wooden spoon intended to use for the stirring.

"Sure!" Caity replied, glad that he was letting her do this. He didn't have all the experience she had after all! And she wanted to make it taste 'specially good for her grandpa!

xoxoxoxoxo

After being awoken by her alarm, the first thing Sam did was to check on her daughter – who wasn't in her room, and neither was her CO. While looking for them, she saw her dad standing at the kitchen entrance, looking at whatever was going on in there. When she got closer, she could also hear both her daughter and her CO talking, and, what was even more important, she smelled fresh coffee! Just what she needed!

She was about to say something, when her dad turned around, smiling and motioning for her to come have a look – but be quiet. Sam couldn't quite believe the scene unfolding in front of her.

Caity, still in her pajamas, was kneeling on the kitchen counter next to the stove, stirring with a wooden spoon what Sam decided must be porridge. Though where her daughter's obsession with that stuff came from, she had no idea. Next to her stood Jack, pouring something – probable pancake dough – into a frying pan. Then he looked at Caity, asking what she thought what it looked like. Caity giggled and then starting to name all kinds of animals. And although Sam couldn't see Jack's face, she knew he was grinning and enjoying himself, well, judging by his relaxed posture and tone of his voice anyway.

More out of reflex than anything else, Sam went to fetch a camera to make a couple of pictures. After that, she couldn't resist her need for coffee any longer and went into the kitchen to fetch a cup.

"Morning," she said. "You two having fun?"

Looking up Caity said grinning widely, "Mommy! Look, we're making breakfast!"

"That's what I thought," Sam replied, stepping closer to give her daughter a hug and kiss her on top of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yep," she replied, while concentrating on the difficult task of stirring. "But Uncle Jack woke me with his snoring," she added innocently.

"Hey!" Jack said, while Sam tried to stifle her laughter. "I did not!"

"Did too!" Caity replied, nodding vigorously.

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Kids!" Jacob called loudly, looking sternly at both of them, though his eyes were twinkling with laughter. Sam, on the other hand, wasn't that subtle and was laughing out loud.

"Sorry," Caity mumbled, having the grace to even look sorry.

"Uhm, yeah, me too." Jack added after a while.

Shaking his head, Jacob went over to the rest of them, smiling at Caity. "Hey there. So, just what exactly are you doing?"

Smiling back, Caity went on to explain everything about her beloved porridge. Jacob listened amused, and when he looked questioningly at Sam, she just shrugged in reply. _She_ didn't like porridge all that much after all.

When they finished breakfast, Caity looked thoughtfully at her Uncle Jack. Finally, she stood up, went over to him, patted his arm and said, "You should make pancakes for Auntie Janet too. Then she won't think you can't cook!"

"Thank you!" he replied grinning widely, choosing to ignore the snorts coming from Sam's and Jacob's general direction. Caity beaming up at him the way she was now, was definitely worth a couple of snorts!

Looking around, Jack thought he could definitely get used to this scenario. He couldn't remember when he last had that much fun having breakfast – or making it, despite the still early hours and the … stuff Caity made him eat. As Sam stood up, he looked at his watch and realised he'd better get going if he still wanted to catch a quick shower, change and still be in time for work. So after helping Sam to bring the used dishes into the kitchen, he said, "Uhm, I better head out or I'll be late…"

"Okay," Sam replied, smiling at him _that_ smile, "And thanks for everything."

"You're welcome," he replied grinning, before turning and saying goodbye to Caity and Jacob too.

_

* * *

A/N: This one is just a (totally unplanned) short and hopefully sweet addition. It was completely inspired by sg1jo's review who suggested _'to start out the next chapter with Jack and Caity fixing breakfast, to show Sam that he really can cook'_ – and my mean Muse fell for it and wouldn't let me do any RL-writing (of the science kind) before I finished this… Nevertheless, the next chapter should still be out by the end of the week – and then it's time to meet Jake!_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 **

Once Jack, and her dad too, left, Sam turned around to her daughter.

"Okay, let's get ready too. Share the shower?"

"Yeah!" Caity replied enthusiastically – she loved showering with her mom, because they always had lots of fun – before adding rather precocious, "It's better for water conservation anyway!"

Chuckling – life never got boring with her daughter around – Sam went with Caity to get ready for the day. She planned on driving Caity over to her brother's house and stay for a little while before it was time for her to leave for work. She wasn't supposed to be in before 10 this morning, and she intended to spent the time left with Caity.

Before starting to work though, she wanted to visit Daniel in the infirmary, who managed to take a fall down a small ravine off-world, getting pretty bruised and a nasty concussion for his efforts. Though she was sorry for him to take that fall, she was also glad he did, because that enabled Jack to turn up at her door last night. Something she was still grateful for.

Unfortunately, things never happened the way they were supposed to in her life.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam was last to enter the briefing room. Her dad and General Hammond were talking quietly, and by the looks of it rather privately than officially. Teal'c was already sitting in his usual place – almost motionless – but he acknowledged her presence with a small smile and nod – and Sam could have sworn he was bored. Not so much bored as her CO though, who was playing with his yo-yo, sighing loudly. Upon her entrance, his mood seemed to improve and he smiled at her – big time. And judging by the sudden wobbly feeling in her knees, she probably should have eaten more this morning. That she had basically stuffed herself with porridge and pancakes never crossed her mind though.

On the other side of the room were the two Tok'ra scientist, who seemed to be arguing over one thing or the other – not that she'd care anyway, as she had to come in earlier than she'd planned to because of them, therefore sufficiently cutting short the quality time with her daughter. Janet was there too, using the time till the meeting started to go over some files she brought. As for Daniel, well, he was still in the infirmary working on his bed-side manners – or as Jack would say, breaking another couple of nurses hearts.

Once General Hammond realised that everyone needed was present, he started the briefing.

"Okay, let's get things started. Jacob, what is it exactly that we can help you with?"

"Recently the Tok'ra have encountered something they never knew – illness," Jacob, or rather Selmak started.

"Hey, wait! Isn't … you know … supposed to prevent this from happening?" Jack asked curiously.

"Exactly. That's why we need your help as we haven't encountered anything like this before and Jacob suggested you might be able to help us," Selmak replied.

"Me?" Jack replied flippantly. "That's too much of an honour, really."

"Colonel!" General Hammond half-heartedly reprimanded him, though he silently had to admit that it was a good one.

Apparently Selmak thought so too, because he chuckled in reply. However, the other two Tok'ra did look pretty disapprovingly.

"No Jack, that's what I requested Dr. Frasier's presence for," Selmak replied patiently, albeit still amused. "These are Melnar and Kerlin, our scientists assigned to this problem. They can probably explain things better than I." Jacob continued, motioning to the two other Tok'ra sitting at the briefing room table.

"As Selmak already mention," Melnar started, "We never have experienced anything like this. Several weeks ago, Galyr, one of our operatives came back from a mission seemingly feeling unwell. As he had experienced a long time without any kind of nourishment, he – and his symbiot Toran for that matter – thought the weakness was because of that. But, unfortunately, even after several days of rest his condition didn't improve but got worse. Toran finally had to admit that there was some sort of small organism running through Galyr's system, an organism that seemed to be immune to any of the counteraction Toran tried, and even worse, finally started to affect not only Galyr but Toran too."

"Soon, those of us spending the most time with Toran, started to show similar symptoms – extreme weakness, fever and headaches among others – and we were able to detect the microorganisms in their blood too. So far, we've been able to eliminate nanites as the cause for all of this, showing that it were indeed biological organisms responsible. Luckily there haven't been any deaths so far, but the recovery of those affected takes very long and the illness has now started to affect some of our missions. When Selmak learned from this, he suggested to come here for help, as you apparently encounter similar problems quite frequently," Kerlin continued.

"What we don't understand though, is the organism's immunity to us. And we really don't know how to treat it and we'll be glad for any help you could offer," Melnar emphasised.

"So you have bug-trouble." Jack stated after a while, smirking.

"Basically – yes." Jacob replied, rolling his eyes at Jack's way of putting it. "That's were you – and I don't mean _you_, Jack – come in. So far, our scientists haven't found a cure and as you have much more experience with this kind of thing, I thought you might be able to help."

"Well, we need a sample of the bug, as the Colonel put so nicely, to start with. And we need to make sure the microorganisms won't do us any harm." Janet started. "Then again, it's not exactly my field of expertise, so we need to get reinforcements."

Realising what Janet had just said – and something else – Sam became alarmingly wide-eyed. Damn, damn, damn! How could she have forgotten about _that_!

Seeing Sam's reaction to her statement, Janet looked surprised at her friend. She couldn't believe that she obviously had forgotten to mention _that_ to her dad! As far as she was concerned, they spent the whole evening and night together! She really thought Sam had already told her dad, otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up immediately. Which of course left the interesting question, if Jake knew about his dad being here … well, they would know soon enough anyway.

"Very well. Let's get Dr. Pullman to join us, then we go from there." General Hammond replied, the fact that Dr. Pullman was Jacob's lost son conveniently slipping his mind for the moment.

"Dr. Pullman?" Jack asked alarmingly, suddenly realising just why Sam was rather looking at her hands in her lap then at everyone else. Reaching over he squeezed her hand reassuringly and Sam held onto it for life, showing no intentions of releasing his hand soon.

"Do I know him? He doesn't sound familiar?" Jacob asked curiously after Jack's alarmed question.

"He's new to our staff and our leading microbiologist. Actually, he's brilliant and likes to think out of the box." Janet replied vaguely.

"Thinking out of the box? Sounds like he's the perfect SGC-Material," Jacob joked, and this Dr. Pullman being a scientist might also explain Jack's reaction. He wasn't exactly know for his love of scientist, well apart from his daughter and Dr. Jackson that is.

"Oh boy." Sam muttered, but luckily Jack was the only one to hear it. And as his hand was still clasped firmly between her two, he squeezed them once again. She looked up at him then, trying to smile reassuringly, but it looked rather forced.

"That he is," General Hammond mumbled, avoiding to look his old friend into the eyes. This briefing was definitely becoming more and more interesting by the moment.

As they waited for the – as far as Jacob was concerned – ominous Dr. Pullman to arrive, he looked over at his daughter on the other side of the table. She was sitting between Teal'c and Jack almost as if they were protecting her. Then again, after all he had learned yesterday, he could well understand the two men's behaviour, and he was glad for their friendship. Although he still found the way Jack had shown up on his daughter's doorstep last night rather strange. And all of Caity's revelations after that – oh boy! His granddaughter sure had a way of making things interesting… . Apparently she already had Jack – and Selmak for that matter – wrapped around her little finger and he was sure to find himself there pretty soon too. Not that he would mind that, far from it.

He was finally brought out of his thoughts by Jack's mumbled, "Here we go." First looking curiously at Jack, trying to gauge what he meant with it, Jacob slowly turned towards where he expected Dr. Pullman to enter the room – and froze.

"General, you wanted to see me?" Jake asked before taking a closer look around the room. "What the hell … !" he added angrily, causing Sam to wince guiltily, unconsciously squeezing Jack's hand even tighter.

"Jake! That has to wait until later. You are here because the Tok'ra need your expertise," General Hammond said understanding but authoritative, thereby reminding Jake of their deal.

"Fine, whatever." Jake said scowling.

Seeing Sam looking guiltily in his direction, he knew his father didn't arrive just a couple of minutes ago, but also knew she didn't forget to tell him on purpose. He was glad to see her slowly getting her life together again, so he forgave her immediately, smiling reassuringly in her direction – and getting a small smile in return. Deciding to concentrate on the work at hand and ignoring his father's presence for the time being, he went completely professional, asking, "So what can I help you with?"

After General Hammond introduced the present Tok'ra – including Jacob, or rather Selmak – the two Tok'ra scientists explained everything again, including Dr. Frasier's input so far, and Jake soon truly forgot his father's presence at all – the more than curious scientist in him helping tremendously. And who could blame him? Being able to help an alien race with his knowledge _was_ amazing after all!

Meanwhile, Jacob came slowly out of his shock and remembered to breath. Without Selmak, he'd surely be dead by now. Major heart attack. No kidding. How the hell did Jake – his son – end up in the SGC. And why didn't Sam tell him about it? Well, okay, she surely had enough to cope with right now, so he could at least understand that she might have forgotten about it. Or so Selmak pointed out to him. And Jacob was still way too shocked to argue with Selmak right now.

If someone would have asked him what was said during Jake's briefing, he wouldn't be able to repeat any of it. Even if his life would depend on it. He was simple too caught up into his own thoughts. Replaying last night, he remembered Caity frequently talking about Uncle Jake, but Jacob new he was living in Denver over the last couple of years and was therefore close enough to visit frequently, so it never crossed his mind that he might have moved to Colorado Springs! Especially as Sam never did hide how close she and Jake became again, even keeping him up-to-date on his son's family, he expected him to be close by after the recent events. But _that_ close? It truly never crossed his mind.

Finally getting his emotions under control again – Selmak even returned the control over his body back to him – he started to look closer at his son. A son he hadn't seen for about 20 years. Not in person anyway. Sure, Jacob had seen the occasional photograph and knew Jake was married, had four kids and went into life science, but it was completely different to sit at the same table after all that time had passed. And at the SGC of all places! Well, all Jacob could do, was shake his head in wonder – and hoping his son would finally talk to him again… .

Jack, having heard the whole thing before, was avoiding incredible boredom by watching the people around the room. The longer Jake's briefing took, the more relaxed Sam became and he finally could feel his fingers again. Nice. People-watching was so much more fun when you could be sure all of your body parts were still alive and well.

Scanning the people around the table, he almost had to laugh out loud at the way Sam, the Doc, the General and even Teal'c kept on glancing between Jake and Jacob! It was like everyone was expecting any kind of explosion any time soon. Though judging by the expression on Jake's face – one that reminded him a lot of the geek in Sam, he was far too absorbed in the scientific problem to even acknowledge his dad's presence. And Jacob, well, it looked like he wasn't present at all. He looked kinda funny, trying to grasp everything that happened in the last couple of minutes. Jack couldn't even blame him, Jacob hadn't spoken to nor seen his son for ages after all.

Eventually, both Jack and Jacob were brought out of their thoughts when General Hammond declared the end of the meeting. By the time both of them had their act together again, Jake was already deeply engrossed in a conversation with Melnar and Kerlin, taking off with both of them.

"Well, that went well!" Jack finally said flippantly, as everyone else in the room seemed to be holding their breath. Well, the remaining occupants anyway, as General Hammond suddenly had an important phone call to make and the Doc needed to check on her patients.

"Indeed. Jake Pullman seemed confident to find a solution to the Tok'ra's health issues." Teal'c contributed – and everyone was suddenly staring at him. Not that he'd care, far from it, he actually enjoyed stunning his friends with seemingly inappropriate comments by taken his friends words literally, especially when they clearly weren't meant to be interpreted that way.

Jack, not knowing if Teal'c was serious or not, simply shrugged his shoulders. Sometimes the big guy was just too hard to figure out, though Jack guessed he had a much better sense of humour than anyone gave him credit for.

"Sorry," Sam started miserably, "I simply forgot to mention Jake last night."

"I know. I didn't exactly announce my visit after all." Jacob replied sighing deeply before stepping towards his daughter, who seemed in desperate need of an reassuring hug.

Jack, who was standing close to Sam, his hand on the small of her back for silent support, cautiously stepped back, therefore giving Jacob access to his daughter. Though how his hand ended up there, he couldn't remember. And neither could Sam, she only noticed his hand once he removed it.

"Don't ya think your family takes the 'we are all one family at the SGC'-thing a bit too far, dad?" Jack asked jokily, intending to lift the mood in the room. Then, remembering Caity's question – well, with the help of Jacob staring at him incredulously and Sam turning bright red – he added sheepishly, "Uhm, never mind?"

Clearing his throat, Jacob asked, "Sam, do you think there's any chance of Jake being willing to talk – or even listen – to me?"

"Not before he is finished with this little project. That's for sure," Jack replied before Sam could say anything. Feeling both of them staring back at him he continued, "What? Haven't you seen the look on his face when he left the room? He's completely gone into geek-mode, probably having forgotten the need to eat and sleep already."

"He's right, dad. It don't think now would be a good time talking to him. Just give him some time to adjust to this new situation."

"Forgot to call him too?"

"Yep. Sorry." Sam replied blushing.

"Hey, it's nothing to be sorry about. At least we had the same starting point then," Jacob reassured his daughter. "So, how long is he with the SGC anyway?"

"Since Anubis sent us his little present in form of that _huge_ honking rock." Jack supplied helpfully.

"Yeah. Janet asked him a couple of weeks earlier if he'd be interested in a job around here. And though she knew about Jake she didn't know that Dr. Pullman _was_ Jake. But he didn't start until we had already left to deal with the asteroid."

"You mean until you flew it through Earth?" Jacob replied chuckling. Only his daughter… only his daughter would pull something like this.

"Yeah, well, we had to do something… " Sam answered shrugging her shoulders.

"So, how did everyone else react to have him here?" Jacob asked curiously.

"Well, apart from the General, SG-1 and Janet no ones knows about our relationship. And even I didn't know he was going to work here for a while!"

"Sneaky family, I'd say." Jack commented – which earned him identical glares from both father and daughter. Ops.

"Ah, Teal'c! We better get ready for that … thing … General Hammond asked as to do! See you two later!" he added hastily.

"Very well, O'Neill. I believe you refer to us finishing our paperwork while Daniel Jackson is still in the infirmary." Teal'c replied – smirking a typical Jaffa-smirk.

"Thanks T!" Jack replied sarcastically, pointedly ignoring the snorts coming from both Sam and her dad, before leaving the briefing room. Bah.

After bowing his head towards both Sam and Jacob – and smiling once again, Teal'c followed Jack out of the briefing room.

"So…" Jacob started, unsure of what to do or say.

"So, you could come to my lab. I'm currently working on some new devices Selmak might be interested in…" Sam offered shyly.

"Sure, we'd love to! And while Selmak is working, you can tell me some more stories about my grandkids." Jacob replied. "And people really don't know who Jake really is?" he added curiously.

"Nope."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. It's actually kinda funny. I think there's even a betting pool on when exactly the two of us are getting together or something."

Shaking his head, Jacob slowly followed his daughter out of the room, wondering what else was going to happen today. Because one thing was for sure, since he arrived last night, his life was completely turned upside down. And it didn't look like that would change any time soon. Especially with Jake here on base too.

_

* * *

A/N: To keep the confusion at a minimum, I'm always referring to Sam's dad as Jacob and her brother as Jake. Or at least I'm trying to ;). I had a lot of trouble to put my thoughts into words with this one – and it didn't exactly help that Muse refused to work before 11 p.m. – so I hope this didn't turn out too bad (first version: to bed… a little hint to Muse I guess. LOL). But don't worry, there'll definitely be more Jake/Jacob next chapter. Anyway, thanks to all those wonderful reviewers out there! _


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Jack was having a great time.

He was standing just inside Carter's lab, watching her play with her newest doohickey. Okay, maybe she wasn't playing but working with it, but it sure looked like she was enjoying herself. And that itself made him happy, as she was still going through a rough time – personal-wise. Then again, he'd never admit to anyone that watching Carter being absorbed in studying one of her doohickeys made him happy. And the funny feeling inside his stomach that kept increasing while he was watching her was only there because he was hungry. It was lunchtime after all.

"Hey, watcha doing?" he finally asked – after making sure she didn't have anything valuable in her hands. He _did_ learn from his mistakes after all!

"Oh! Sir! I didn't hear you come in," Sam replied startled. Taking a closer look, she decided he must have been standing there for some time already, judging by the smirk playing around his lips. Lips. She was _so_ not going there!

"Yeah, well, you looked kinda busy. And with my sneaking skills and all… " Jack answered shrugging his shoulders, wondering just why Sam had started to blush. Not that he didn't like it, it was just … strange.

"Of course! How could I forget," she replied playfully, before adding, "Sir!"

"Ah! I thought so," Jack replied, the smirk never leaving his face. "So… where's dad?"

"Dad?" Sam replied before thinking straight – and blushing again once her brain caught up with her mouth. "Uhm, he wanted to talk to General Hammond," she added, uselessly trying to cover up her earlier slip.

"So, how about lunch?" Jack asked, deciding to better let the whole 'dad'-topic drop – and not only for Sam's sake. See! In his thoughts he was once again referring to her as Sam, something that happened more and more often over the last couple of days. Although they went on first name basis whenever they were off-duty – only so they wouldn't confuse Caity, of course – it didn't mean his thoughts were allowed to boldly go where they haven't gone before! Right?

"Wow! I didn't know it's that late already," Sam replied surprised after glancing at her watch.

"That's were I come in," Jack replied proudly, shoving his earlier thoughts somewhere else. He'd handle them later. Maybe. Or not. Bah, Sam was a nice name and they were friends, so he should be allowed to call her that, right? Uhm, so much for later…

"Yeah sure, thank you, sir," Sam replied smiling. "But I'm not really hungry _and_ I need to finish this." That said, she leant over her workbench taking one of her more expensive instruments out of his hands.

"Well, you know me, I wouldn't insist on it - but Jake is looking forward to having lunch with you."

"Yeah sure." Sam replied, snorting. At her CO. Ops. "Sir."

"What, you don't believe me? I'm truly hurt!" Jack replied grinning, knowing he could only win this little game.

"So, did you tell him _I_ am looking forward to having lunch with him?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"No-o, of course not!" Jack replied, sounding hurt. "I told Teal'c to do that!" he added with a smug smile.

"Fine. I'll come with you," Sam replied, rolling her eyes. Her train of thoughts were interrupted for now anyway, so she could just as well take a break. And it was the fastest way to get her CO out of her lab full with easily breakable things, well, easily breakable by her CO anyway.

"How is the paperwork, sir?" she asked smirking once they left her lab.

"Hmpf."

"Sir?" Sam said, enjoying herself tremendously. If she had to stop her work for a while, she could as well have some fun.

"Teal'c came to _my_ office to do _his_ paperwork," Jack grumbled.

"Ouch. So you actually had to do paperwork too?" Sam asked, not even trying to hide her smile.

"Yeah, well. Apparently me minding my own business did disturb Teal'c's concentration." Jack kept on grumbling, though now more to make Sam smile than actually being grumpy.

"Been playing with your yo-yo?" Sam asked knowingly just as they entered the elevator.

"Silently."

"Sooo … Teal'c took it from you?" Sam continued amused.

"Did you ever try saying 'no' when the big buy gives you his puppydog eyes?" Jack whined.

This was too much for Sam and she burst out laughing. In the face of her CO. Ooops. "Uhm … sorry, sir." She managed to finally choke out.

"Ah, 'twas nothing!" Jack replied, happy to see her in such a good mood. Furthermore, making Sam laugh scored a full 10 points in the little competition he had running with Jake. The scale started with 1 point for the hint of a smile and ended with 10 points for laughing out loud or that full-blown smile that could light up a room.

xoxoxoxoxo

Jake along with Teal'c and Janet were already there when Sam and Jack entered they commissary. After getting their food, they went up to their table and joined them. Sam ended up sitting between Jake, who was sitting at the head of the table, and her CO. And although it was completely normal to them, the rest of the commissary kept throwing glances in there direction, waiting for the things to come.

"So, how are things in the bug-land?" Jack asked.

"Actually, it's pretty interesting. We've started to isolate the bug, which is actually some sort of virus, from the blood samples and at the same time tried to work out why the Tok'ra aren't immune to it. So far it seems that…" Jake started enthusiastically – but was rudely interrupted by Jack.

"Ah! Way too much information!" Jack said, holding up his hands for emphasis. "I'm actually trying to eat here!"

"Well, you _did_ ask," Jake said slightly irritated, still not completely used to Jack's way.

"He has a point, sir," Sam stated.

"Hey! No ganging up on me. I'm just a poor old guy who suffered through endless hours of paperwork this morning trying to make some _light_ conversation!"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow on that statement, but decided to remain silent. _He_ did have fun watching Jack O'Neill squirm in front of his paperwork all morning after all.

"Then ask some _light_ questions, Colonel." Janet pointed out amused, having way too much fun with it. "And you're not that poor either!"

"Geez, thanks Doc. You're making me feel so much better now," Jack said sarcastically. Oh well, at least _they_ were having fun.

For the remainder of the meal the conversation was light, and everyone managed to truly relax. Until General Hammond and Jacob turned up that is.

Jake tensed up immediately, causing Sam to look guiltily at him. Knowing that it wasn't his sister's fault, Jake put his hand onto hers that was lying on the table, squeezing it lightly to show he wasn't mad at her. When she finally looked up at him again, he smiled at her reassuringly and she smiled back, interlacing her fingers with his.

Even before Jacob and the General reached the table of SG-1s extended group, Janet stood up hastily looking rather … strange. "Uhm, sorry guys, have to go to … check on Daniel. Catch you later!" she said before starting to leave.

"I will accompany you," Teal'c, who had been sitting next to Janet, stated calmly.

"Do you know what that was about?" Jack asked no one in particular, but judging by their rather dumbfounded expressions they didn't know either. So letting the topic drop, he continued, "General! Da… Jacob! What brings you to our humble corner of the universe?"

"Lunch?" Jacob said, pointing to his tray full of food. "Sam, Jake."

"Hi dad!"

"Selmak."

Ouch.

xoxoxoxoxo

"You may laugh now, you won't be overheard." Teal'c stated calmly once the elevator doors closed behind them.

That was it, first the commissary and now Teal'c's calm advice and Janet burst out laughing. Hard. She was laughing so hard that tears started to run down her face. Luckily she calmed down before the doors opened again, or maybe Teal'c had stopped the elevator until then.

"My office!" She managed to say before leaving the elevator, trying hard not to start laughing again.

"Did you see the faces of SG-3?" Janet asked as soon as Teal'c closed her office door behind him, laughing once again. "And SG-12?"

"I have indeed." Teal'c replied smiling. "It was most enjoyable to observe their reactions to the on-goings between Major Carter and her brother."

"Exactly! I thought SG-12's Lt. Miller's eyes would pop out when Sam sat down between Jake and the Colonel. And I'm almost sure they did when Sam interlaced her fingers with Jake's!" Janet recalled laughing.

"Indeed. The members of SG-3 too seemed rather shocked by that behavior."

"Or that the Colonel seemed to ignore it!"

Still smiling, Teal'c tilted his head in confirmation. During lunch, both he and Dr. Frasier had been observing the other teams in the commissary that were ultimately interested into the happenings at SG-1's table. And both he and Dr. Frasier had obviously drawn the same conclusions.

"I shall go and increase my bet on the 'Who is the man?'-pool." Teal'c stated suddenly.

Staring dumbfounded at him, Janet couldn't believe what she'd just heard! Teal'c wasn't just setting a bet, he was increasing it and on the bet formerly known as 'Who-is-the-babies-father'-pool at that! This was definitely something she'd never expect to hear from Teal'c. Then another question crossed her mind.

"Wouldn't it be suspicious if you'd chose to increase your bet?" Janet asked curiously, truly interested in what solution Teal'c had come up with. And maybe she could apply this to herself! She wasn't one to ignore a good idea after all.

"Indeed. However, Sgt. Carlson's bet won't raise any suspicions." Teal'c replied, pleased that Dr. Frasier caught on to that problem.

"Sgt. Carlson?" Janet asked confused.

"Indeed. He is – as you'd say – in my debt and will be placing the bet."

"Sneaky!" Janet replied laughing, shaking her head in surprise. Who would have thought Teal'c would do something like that! She'd probably never be able to figure him out completely. "I think Lt. Kings is about to place a bet too," she added winking.

"This seems to be a very wise decision of Lt. Kings," Teal'c answered more than approvingly.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile in the commissary General Hammond got some coffee and left for his office, hoping he wouldn't have to come back to settle some fight or other.

"So, you are hungry, I take it?" Jack asked to ease the tension that has risen to some degree.

"Sort of. Though it's more that despite their age the Tok'ra never managed to perfect – or even improve – their cooking skills," Jacob replied.

"And I always thought they gave us the crap they call food because they don't like us. Much," Jack exclaimed.

"Very funny, Jack," Jacob replied, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks," Jack answered proudly. "I always try to do my best."

Jake, seeing Sam smiling and slightly shaking her head at Jack, had to admit that he was really good in making Sam smile. Not that he'd mind, even if it meant that he'd probably be loosing that little 'Make Sam smile over and over again'-game they were playing. As long as Sam was happy, he was too.

What him surprised though, was the light banter going on between his father and Jack, something he never imagined his father was even capable of. Maybe Sam was right – well he never saw her _not_ being right anyway – maybe their dad _had_ changed in the last couple of years, but even if he had, Jake wasn't ready to forgive him just yet.

Silence.

Jacob looked like his food was the most fascinating thing he had seen in his life; Sam was nervously glancing between her dad, Jake and her hands in her lap; Jake was looking straight ahead, therefore avoiding to look at anyone; and Jack, well Jack was looking around, fiddling with his yo-yo and finally when neither Jake nor Jack were watching, leaning closer to Sam, their cheeks almost touching.

"Awkward?" he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"God, yes!" Sam exclaimed, though still keeping her voice low.

"Think they will notice when we sneak out?"

"Well, we could try…"

"Good." Jack replied with a grin. "But slowly!"

"Yes, sir. I happened to have had a good teacher in sneaking away from critical situations like this!"

"Sweet!"

"Yeah, Teal'c has been a great help." Sam couldn't help but reply mischievously.

"Hey!" Jack whispered – well, as shocked as one can whisper anyway.

"Sorry. Sir," Sam replied grinning.

"Smart-ass. Okay, move out!"

xoxoxoxoxo

It really _did_ take a couple of minutes until father and son realized that they have been abandoned. Well, Selmak pointed it out to Jacob and his surprised looking around caught Jake's attention.

"Great," Jake muttered to himself. Well, he'd better be going too, then.

"Wait!" Jacob said just as Jake started to get up. "Please, we need to talk."

"Selmak, I'm sorry. But I already should have gone back to work a while ago." Jake replied defensively.

"Look, I'm sorry," Jacob replied. But sensing that Jake was far more comfortable talking to Selmak than to him, he let Selmak take over. "We'd greatly appreciate if you could find some spare minutes to talk to us. Somewhere more private," Selmak asked seriously.

"Sooo, Sam said you're one of the oldest Tok'ra alive…" Jake asked curiously, the scientist breaking through.

"That is correct. I am over 2000 years old."

"That's … old." Jake replied. "Mom always taught me to respect the older. I guess you definitely fall into that category."

"Your mother was a very wise woman," Selmak replied, surprising Jake by the compassion in aforesaid words.

"That she was." Jake replied sadly.

"Uhm, I guess if your Tok'ra friends have waited so long for my return, they can also wait a little while longer," Jake finally agreed after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Thank you, Jake." Selmak replied seriously, and if he was honest, he didn't care about what Melnar and Kerlin would think about Jake's absence – neither did Jacob. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go topside and walk around a bit," Selmak added questioningly.

"Sure," Jake replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The way topside was spent in silence, as were the first minutes walking around.

"So … " Jake started.

"Your father was shocked but also very pleased to see you this morning," Selmak started cautiously, sensing that Jake would be more comfortable talking to him than to his father.

"Yeah, well. I didn't expect to see him either," Jake replied, glad that Selmak chose to do the talking for the time being. True, he knew that Selmak and his father not only shared the body but also most of their thoughts, yet he still felt more comfortable around Selmak. "Then again, I knew that this could happen, General Hammond made sure of it before I even started… "

"So, what did you think when you heard about this little operation?" Selmak asked curiously, a curiosity that was clearly shared with his host.

"Honestly? My first thoughts were in the line of only Sam could manage to make her almost impossible sounding childhood dream come true. And in a big way at that." Jake replied, the pride over his sisters accomplishments obvious. "After that, I jumped at the opportunity to work here of course. I mean, working with alien organisms? That's every microbiologists dream!"

"You sure sound like it," Selmak replied chuckling.

"That obvious, huh?" Jake answered shyly, unconsciously warming up to Selmak more and more.

"Yes. You are obviously sharing your enthusiasm for science with your sister Samantha," Selmak continued smiling. "You know, Jacob is very proud of both of you."

"Yeah, well. Apparently Sam thinks so too… " Jake replied, for the first time admitting that he _did_ listen when Sam talked about their dad. And maybe, just maybe, it did mean something to Jake too.

"Well, she happens to be very smart, you know."

"Yeah, and sometimes too smart for her own good too."

"Some things never change…"

"… and others do." Jake finally admitted.

Jacob, who had taken over from Selmak before that last statement – though Jake didn't seem to even have noticed – watched his son closely as they walked silently once again. He could see a lot of himself in his son, it was almost as if he was looking into a mirror showing his younger self. Well, apart from the glasses … and maybe the hair.

But Jacob could also see a lot of his late wife in his son, especially when he was talking about Sam. There was a softness in his features that Jacob never had, something that Jake surely made a better dad then he ever was. And once again, he was glad to have met Selmak who helped him to actually see and admit a lot of the mistakes he had done in his life.

Meanwhile, Jake was lost in his own thoughts. It felt strange to finally walk next to his father again, a man he hadn't seen for about 20 years. Things had changed, _they_ had changed – and it was something he never expected his father to be able to. But almost dying and now sharing his body with an alien life form did just that. And even if he didn't believe – didn't _want_ to believe – that his sister was right in that respect, he had to admit that she was. Because the old Jacob Carter would have _never_ let Selmak do the talking just because Jake felt more comfortable that way. The older Jacob Carter would have never given up control to someone else. But today he let his own wishes take a back seat, something that as far as Jake could remember barely happened in his childhood.

"So … how long are you staying around?" Jake asked eventually. And somehow both new he was talking to his father now.

"As long as I'm not called back early I intend to stay for a couple of days." Jacob answered cautiously optimistic.

"Yeah, well … you better show up at my place tomorrow night then," Jake replied hesitantly.

"You sure?" Jacob asked both surprised and hopeful, once again showing Jake how much he had changed, because in the past he'd never allow himself to show any insecurities towards his son.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not," Jake started. "But my wife wouldn't be too impressed if I wouldn't at least ask you to come over," Jake added honestly.

"Your wife, huh?"

"Yeah. Apparently I tend to be stubborn and she knows better what's good for me or something … and the couch isn't too comfortable either."

"Sounds like you love her a lot," Jacob commented smiling.

"That I do," Jake replied, smiling for the first time since they came topside. "Apart from that you've been spending last night at Sam's, right?"

"Yes, but what has this to do with your wife?" Jacob asked confused.

"Jocelyn doesn't start working until school starts again, so Caity is staying at my place when Sam is working. And she is surely talking about your visit so my kids will want to meet you as well – and they can be pretty insistent too," Jake replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah, Caity. She's surely someone else, huh?"

"That she is," Jake replied chuckling. "So, are you coming?"

"I'd love to."

"Good. Well, I'd better get back to work then," Jake said, "See you later."

"Okay then, see you. I think I'll stay here a couple of minutes longer," Jacob replied.

Nodding for a last time, Jake turned and started to walk back towards the entrance. He was almost out of hearing range, when his father called after him, causing him to turn around again.

"Jake? Thank you!"

Smiling, Jake turned back and started walking again. Things were far from normal with his dad, but for the sake of his kids – and for his own sake too – he would at least try to work on that relationship again. And if he was honest with himself, he felt kinda good with his decision.

_

* * *

A/N: Phew, so while Muse was chasing after Jake and Jacob, trying to convince them to talk, I used the chance to have some fun in the first part of this chapter. Muse finally succeeded after a hard fight – those two Carter's are surely stubborn – and I hope you like what she came up with._


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It was pretty late when Jake finally decided it was time to go home. More out of habit than anything else he called his sister's lab to see if she was still there – and was surprised that she was. Usually she'd go home on time to spend the rest of the evening with Caity, but not so today. So he did what big brothers were invended for – he went to drag her out of the lab and take her home.

"Ready to go, sis?" he asked cheerfully as soon as he entered Sam's lab.

"Huh?" Sam asked absently, completely absorbed in whatever it was that she was doing.

"When was the last time you looked at your watch?" Jake asked amused.

"Don't think I did after lunch. Why?" she asked confused, still more focused on the device on the workbench in front of her.

"Because it's well past 7 p.m. …"

"Ops?" Sam said sheepishly.

"Yep. Ops." Jake replied knowingly. After all, he knew how easily you could get caught up in your research, especially when it's really interesting and you feel like you almost solved the puzzle. "Soo, are you coming?"

"Huh?" Sam replied, looking blankly for a second. "Oh yeah. Right. Time to go home."

"Exactly," Jake replied chuckling.

"Sam? Have you finished the last energy readings? I think I have an … idea," Jacob said while entering the lab. "Oh, hi Jake," he added surprised.

"Uhm … hi," Jake replied while Sam got the results from her printer.

"Here they are. Dad? I'm sorry but I need to go home. Do you wanna come with me or stay here?" Sam asked, handing the papers over.

"You want to go home?" he asked confused. They were pretty close to unveil the unknown device's secrets after all and you usually had to force Sam to stop working at that crucial stage of their research! Then he remembered, "Oh! Sorry. Caity. You go ahead, I think I keep on working on this little bugger though."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I am. Now go and see you daughter, kiddo. Selmak and I will be fine." Jacob replied gently.

"Thanks." Sam replied, coming over to hug him and kiss him goodbye. "See you tomorrow."

"Uhm, bye … Jacob," Jake said before heading after Sam. They might have talked earlier and gotten along rather well, but it didn't mean Jake was comfortable enough to call him 'dad' again. Not yet anyway.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam was following Jake on the way home, she needed to pick up Caity after all. Just before they left Cheyenne Mountain she had called Jocelyn to apologise for being that late, but Jocelyn wouldn't hear any of it. They all knew it wouldn't be the last time Sam would be late to pick Caity up so Jocelyn simply made dinner for Sam and Caity too.

"I'm home!" Jake called upon entering his house, expecting to be tackled by his two little girls any moment now. But nothing happened.

"Hi dad!" Lucas called from the kitchen.

"Where is everyone?" Jake asked following his son's voice into the kitchen, Sam just behind him.

"Mom is giving Caity, Lena and Maia a bath," Keenan, who was doing the dishes, replied.

"Your dinner is in the oven. Both of yours," Lucas, who was helping his brother, added.

"Great, I'm starving!" Jake replied happily. Seeing his sister repeatedly glancing towards the stairs, he added, "Come on, Sam. It's easier you eat before Caity knows you're back, because then you can concentrate on her as soon as she sees you."

"I guess you're right," Sam agreed reluctantly, taking the plate of food Jake offered her and sitting down at the kitchen counter.

"So, what did you do today?" Jake asked his sons, before digging into his delicious looking meal.

"Mom asked us to pull the weeds in the backyard," Keenan answered, his voice clearly stating that this wasn't one of his favourite works.

"Though it was kinda fun to watch Lena and Maia _help_." Lucas added. "Or watch Keenan trying to impress Cassie with his weeding skills when she showed up!"

"Hey!" Keenan protested, blushing brilliantly.

"Cassie, huh?" Jake asked smiling.

"She's just a _friend_!" Keenan defended himself lamely. He _did_ like her, but that was non of his brother's or dad's business!

"Sure," Jake replied knowingly, not willing to give up teasing his son just yet. He was rarely in the position to do so anymore so he enjoyed every opportunity he got.

Luckily Keenan was saved from a reply when Caity came running into the kitchen, followed by Jocelyn with both her daughters on her arms.

"Mommy! You're back!" she cried happily once she saw her mom sitting at the counter.

Sam picked her daughter up, hugging her tightly, "Mm, you smell good enough to eat!"

"Noo! Your food is on your plate, see?" Caity replied giggling loudly.

Sam played along, looking thoughtfully between Caity and her dinner, before asking, "Are you sure? Cause you look really delicious too!"

"Yes!" Caity replied still giggling. Then she took Sam's fork, carefully picked up some chicken with it and moved it towards Sam's mouth. "Here!"

Carefully chewing the chicken, Sam still looked doubtful. "I don't know…"

"Auntie Sam! Caity's no food!" Maia said alarmed, not wanting her idol to be eaten.

"Uh huh! That's food!" Lena chimed in too, pointing at the plate in front of Sam.

Sighing deeply, Sam finally conceded, "Oh well, if you all thinks so I'd better leave Caity alone."

"Yep!" both Maia and Lena replied in unison, feeling very important right now. They had saved their cousin after all!

Maia suddenly knitted her eyebrows as if in deep thought. You could literally see the wheels turning in her little head. Finally she turned to look at her dad with big eyes, asking, "Daddy? Where's grandpa?"

"Yeah, mommy? Where's grandpa? Didn't he come with you?" Caity chimed in.

Jocelyn, Keenan and Lucas looked curiously between the three little girls and Sam and Jake. Of course they knew about the odds between Jake and his dad but Sam was getting along with him just fine so he couldn't be that bad, right? And Keenan and Lucas wouldn't mind another grandpa to spoil them, because that's what grandpas were for after all.

Feeling everyone's attention directed at him, Jake held his hand up in defeat, saying "Okay, okay. I met him today and we actually talked. A bit."

"And?" Jocelyn asked carefully. She and Sam tried for quite some time to get him to talk to his dad again, he was family after all, but they hadn't succeeded so far as Jake could be painfully stubborn. But now fate seemed to have stepped in, giving them an opportunity to get those two together again and she truly hoped it'd work out. Not only for Jake, but also for their children's sake.

"He's working late and decided to stay on base," Sam replied when Jake would only shrug his shoulders in reply to his wife's question.

"Oh." Caity said disappointed when it became clear he wouldn't come tonight. "But what about the picture I made for him?"

Sighing deeply, Jake replied not too happy, "Well, you'll have to wait till tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow?" Caity asked hopefully while Jocelyn raised her eyebrows questioningly at her husband.

"Yeah, well, considering the bed being way more comfortable than the couch…" Jake started, smiling sheepishly at his wife. "I invited him for dinner tomorrow night."

"Yay!" Caity replied happily, before turning to face Maia and Lena. "That means grandpa is coming tomorrow! We can give him our drawings then!" she explained to her little cousins.

Maia, who was sitting in her daddy's lap right now, reached up to put her arms around his neck, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "My bestest daddy in the world!"

Chuckling, Jake kissed the top her head, whispering "Thank you." Then turning looking towards Sam, he said, "Looks like you are coming too."

"Yep. Seems like it." Sam added smiling. Neither Jake nor her dad had told her about the dinner invitation so she was just as surprised and pleased as Jocelyn was. She could also see that Jake was kind of relieved to have her there too, so she didn't have any problem to 'barge in' on the dinner either.

"Can Uncle Jack come too?" Caity asked Jake, doing her best puppy dog eye impression.

"Uncle Jack?" Jake replied questioningly. Then again, why not, the more the merrier – or the more people the less talking he'd have to do. After looking up at his wife who – judging by the smirk playing around her lips – seemed to know his thoughts, he agreed. "Sure, why not?"

"Uncle Tee too!" Lena cried excitedly and was soon joined by her sister.

"Sure, why not," Jocelyn replied smiling. "We could do a barbecue to feed everyone," she suggested.

"What about Cassie?" Lucas asked, grinning at Keenan who decided to simply ignore his brother. "She helped a lot with all the moving in and such," Lucas added innocently.

"Cassie, huh?" Sam replied grinning, causing Keenan to blush again.

"Okay, okay. So that would be Sam and Caity, your grandpa, Cassie and Aunt Janet, Uncles Jack and Teal'c – so I guess we better invite Uncle Daniel too," Jocelyn started to make a list of who'd be coming and what she'd need. "And how about General Hammond? He's a family friend too, right?" she added as an afterthought.

Seeing his wife already making plans, Jake went to his wife and kissed her soundly on her mouth. "Thank you," he added seriously. "How about Sam calling Jack, Daniel and Teal'c, I'm going to call General Hammond and Keenan can call Cassie and ask if she and her mom will come over too." Jake continued, the last part said with a twinkling eye.

"I'm using the phone in my room," Keenan replied slightly annoyed. Well, he'd make sure Lucas got his own share of teasing once he found a girl he liked. Feeling already better, planning your revenge would do that to you, Keenan closed the door of his room and dialled Cassie's number.

Everyone had left the kitchen for the living room when he came back 30 minutes later. The twins had used the chance of Sam still being there to bribe her into reading a book to them before they went to bed and Caity didn't seemed to mind either. All three were snuggled up close to his aunt and listened intently. And Lucas and his parents were watching TV.

"Hey, so what did Cassie say?" Jocelyn asked once she noticed her oldest son, deciding he had enough teasing for the time being and therefore refraining from mentioning the time he took for that one call.

"She and her mom agreed. Cassie said she'll come over after breakfast to help watching the kids or shopping or whatever needs to be done."

"That's great! That way I won't have to take the girls grocery shopping but can leave them with you and Cassie while Lucas can help me with the groceries." Jocelyn replied, truly relieved about the help Cassie offered.

By then Sam had also finished the book, Lena and Maia more asleep than awake already. And Caity didn't look too awake either. Taking this as her cue to leave, Sam carefully picked Caity up, said goodbye to everyone and left for home.

Tomorrow would definitely be an interesting day. And thankfully it was a Friday too.

_

* * *

A/N: I know this is shorter than most of the other chapters but I have a deadline coming up and shouldn't even have written this chapter. I definitely won't be able to write for the next 2 weeks but should have another chapter up after that. Sorry about that… But it also gives me some time to think about how to tackle the S/J issue – though I already have a couple of ideas. _

_That said, I hope you liked this chapter! And a big THANK YOU to all who reviewed so far and of course to those who are going to, too ;-)!_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Sam didn't look like she had gotten a lot of sleep when she joined the rest of SG-1 in the commissary the next morning – Janet had allowed Daniel to have breakfast there and was going to release him this afternoon for good.

Jack was just about to comment on Sam's appearance, when he saw Jake walking in behind her, shaking his head and moving his hand to tell Jack to better not say anything. Raising his eyebrows questioningly, Jake pointed towards Sam who went straight to the coffee pot and shook his head again. Oh, apparently Sam didn't have any coffee yet and if Jake hadn't stopped him from commenting, Jack would probably be dead by now. Or something like that.

"What?" Daniel asked confused. He was sitting with his back towards the door, so he didn't see Sam and Jake enter.

"Oh, not much…" Jack replied. "Though it looks like Sam missed out on her coffee this morning."

"Ouch!"

"Yep." Jack whispered before adding cheerfully, "Morning, Carter!"

"Hi Sam!"

"Good Morning, Major Carter."

"What good morning," she mutter quietly, before replying more loudly, "Uhm… Morning."

Sitting down, she held her coffee mug in both hands, staring into it and ignoring everyone around her in favour of savouring the smell of the freshly brewed coffee. A couple of minutes later, Jake came over holding a tray with all kinds of food on it. And lots of it too.

"Hungry?" Jack asked amused, deciding to give Sam some more time to get that much needed coffee into her.

"Huh? Oh! That's not for me. At least not everything," Jake replied, motioning towards Sam.

"Ah, no breakfast either." Jack stated. Then again, if Sam didn't have time for coffee, she definitely didn't have time to eat!

"Yep. By the way, thanks for agreeing to come over tonight … you know."

"Don't worry. I mean, you promised free food so what's there not to like! Right Daniel, Teal'c?" Jack answered, slapping Jake on the shoulder.

"Indeed."

"Sure, as long as I get out of the infirmary," Daniel added smiling.

"Well, about the food… " Jake started sheepishly.

"Oh don't worry, Jake. Danny-boy here doesn't eat as much as you might think!" Jack added helpfully.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel whined.

"Yes, Danny-boy?"

"Oh shut-up…" Daniel replied half-heartedly.

"Phew… Daniel really was my biggest worry!" Jake answered playing along – and earned himself a dark look from Daniel. "Okay, it wasn't. But as our little get-together wasn't exactly planned, I wondered if you guys could help and bring dessert. It's apparently your speciality." Jake continued smirking.

"What can I say - we always do our best. So, cake?" Jack asked.

"That'd be great. Thanks. Though you might want to bring some jello too…" Jake answered grinning.

"Blue?" Daniel asked, while Jack exclaimed at the same time, "Red!"

"Nope. Green."

"Eww!" Daniel and Jack said simultaneously.

"Don't let Caity hear that!" Jake replied chuckling. "Actually, my kids seem to prefer that colour too."

"But … it's green!"

"Hey, I don't like it either!" Jake said defensively.

"So _that's_ why you tend to sneak into the kitchen whenever Jocelyn made green jello the night before?" Sam snickered.

"Bah!" Jake grumbled good-naturedly.

"So… " Jack started cautiously, though he was glad to see Sam in a better mood already, "Rough night?"

"That obvious, huh?" Sam replied blushing.

"Nah…!" Jack grinned.

"Liar." Sam answered without thinking. "Uhm… sir!" she added sheepishly.

"I thought so!" he replied, smiling nevertheless. "So, wanna talk about it?" he added more serious again.

Sighing, Sam started, "Well, I was a bit late last night so it was almost bed-time for Caity when we finally left Jake's. That wouldn't have been a problem though, but their was an accident on the way home and we got stuck for quite some time. And of course, Caity was way too interested in all the action going on around us to actually go to sleep. We didn't get home before midnight and by then Caity was too tired to actually fall asleep."

"Ouch," came Jack's reply. He could remember a similar occasion with Charly and when he had to get up the next morning he was more than grumpy. "That actually sounds like it was an even rougher morning though."

"No kidding!" Sam replied sarcastically. "Sorry, sir," she added sighing deeply.

"Don't worry. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt." Jack replied, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

After that, Sam dug into her breakfast heartily and her brother and the men of SG-1 helped to clear off anything she didn't eat. And unbeknownst to them, they were once again the – even though only subtle – centre of attention in the commissary. It definitely helped to raise the betting pools to new heights. When they finally left the commissary, Teal'c was seen to enter the kitchen which caused more than one additional raised eyebrow at SG-1's plus one Dr. Pullman's behaviour.

The rest of the day went quite uneventful. Jake and the Tok'ra kept working on the Tok'ra's 'bug-trouble' as Jack had so nicely called it, Sam and her dad managed to finished with her latest project before it was shipped off to Area 51, Daniel kept on breaking nurse's hearts once he had gotten back to the infirmary and Jack and Teal'c had fun training new recruits.

xoxoxoxoxo

This time Sam managed to leave on time and so she was the first to arrive at her brothers home. Jocelyn was glad about the additional help, even though Cassie had arrived just after breakfast and kept the twins busy most of the time, SG-1 had agreed to bring dessert and the two Generals had promised to bring both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. Still, there was a lot to be done before the rest of them arrived and the boys more than earned a little break. Of course, Cassie didn't mind to keep watching the girls and Keenan was happy as long as he could be near Cassie. And Lucas, well, only when he stayed close to Cassie and Keenan could he actually make fun of his brother later on, right?

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were the next to arrive – and Cassie was relieved of her babysitter duties as all three little girls dragged Teal'c into the backyard and started to climb over him almost immediately. Caity tried to get Jack into their game, but after spotting the barbecue he happily explained that someone would have to prepare it and as Jake wasn't there yet it would be his job. Pleased with himself, he went back inside to ask Jocelyn if she'd mind him taking a look at it and to get whatever he needed to do so. Leaving a pouting Daniel in a lawn chair – he was supposed to take it easy after all – Jack went to work.

Cassie had decided to help Sam and Jocelyn in the kitchen – and Keenan thought he might just as well chat with his friends in Denver, because if he'd follow Cassie into the kitchen he'd surly end up doing something really unmanly. And though he really liked Cassie, he wasn't going to risk that.

Luckily, the guys of SG-1 not only brought the promised dessert – including a big bowl of green and two smaller bowls of blue and red jello – but also the beverages the Generals promised to take care of, so everything could be prepared.

Less than an hour later, all preparations were about finished and as both Jake and Janet had also arrived by now, the two Generals were the only ones missing.

So when the doorbell rang, Jake sighed deeply and after receiving a reassuring smile from his wife went to open the front door – only to be beaten by Caity who just came back from a trip to the bathroom. Seeing her uncle moving to the door as well – she wasn't allowed to answer the door all by herself after all – she went ahead to open it.

"Grandpa Jacob!" she exclaimed excitedly, throwing herself into his arms. "I missed you yesterday because I made a nice picture for you!"

"Really?" Jacob answered, a wide grin spreading over his face. He hadn't expected such an enthusiastic welcome from his granddaughter – which made this only that much sweeter.

"Yep," she replied, smiling sweetly. "Are you're mommy's boss?" Caity continued, scrutinising the man standing next to her grandfather critically.

"That I am. But when I first met her, she was even younger than you are now." General Hammond replied, already smitten by the little girl.

"Really?" Caity asked wide-eyed.

"Really. If you like you can call me Uncle George, it sounds much better than mommy's boss." he answered smiling.

"Sweet!"

Coughing slightly – that comment sounded suspiciously like something a certain Colonel would say – Jacob turned his attention to his son.

"Hi Jake," he said slightly self-consciously.

"Yeah, uhm, hi. Come on in. Everyone's out in the backyard."

"Thanks," both Generals replied in unison, causing Caity who was still on her grandpa's arm, to giggle. Her giggling also helped to ease to tension between father and son.

Calling his sons to come down as well, Jake led them outside to meet his family. He was still thinking about how to best start that conversation, when his niece chose to take matters in her own hands once again.

"Mommy! Look, I found Grandpa Jacob and Uncle George!" Caity exclaimed as soon as they stepped on the porch. Turning slightly in her grandpa's arms so that she'd face her uncle Jack, she continued, "Uncle Jack?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"I think Uncle George is nice! So when he makes you do stuff you don't like you must have done something bad!" she continued seriously. "You have to try to be a good boy all the time!"

Should there have been any tension left, it was all gone now as everyone – minus Jack – burst out laughing. Well, Teal'c wasn't exactly laughing either, but he spotted quite an impressive smile. Lucas and Keenan, having only heard the last bit as they came out of the house, started to snicker too – though it might just as well be due to the sight before them.

"Wha..! I … Sir, I … !" was all Jack managed to choke out.

Meanwhile, Caity was completely confused. Why was everyone laughing? And why was her Uncle Jack making such a funny face? He almost looked like the big fishes in the zoo! Not knowing what else to do, she motioned her grandpa to let her down and went over to where Jack was sitting next to the barbecue.

"Are you okay?" she asked him concerned, patting him on his arm. "I don't like when everyone laughs at me either, that is not nice!" She added, looking disapprovingly at everyone else. Though chuckling at the fierce look the 7-year old was giving them, the adults at least managed to stop laughing and even a 'sorry' or two could be heard.

"You know, she reminds me a lot of another 7-year old I once knew… " General Hammond finally said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh yeah!" both Jake and Jacob replied groaning.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad," Sam answered but was blushing nevertheless. "I was and Caity is just very observing and curious, that's all!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jake replied slightly patronising, patting Sam's back, "We know."

"Bah!" Sam answered pouting playfully.

After that, introductions were quite easy and Caity's enthusiasms towards their grandpa helped Keenan and Lucas to accept him just as easily. Lena and Maia needed a little bit more time though. They were pretty confused when almost everyone started laughing and they didn't understand why. Also, there were those two men they didn't know either. Luckily Teal'c – with whom they were still playing anyway – wasn't behaving weird and laughing without reason and he was really big and scary when you didn't know him, so each of them was hugging one of his legs tightly, efficiently hiding behind them. When they – well, Teal'c – got close to everyone else, they carefully peered out of their hiding place and observed the two new arrivals. Seeing them hiding, Caity came forward, took each of her little cousins on one hand and officially introduced them to 'Grandpa Jacob' and 'Uncle George'.

Once everyone was acquainted, the evening moved on nicely. Jake, Jack and Teal'c – needing a little break from the twins – tended to the already prepared barbecue while everyone else relaxed.

Keenan and Lucas were quite interested in their newly-met grandpa and asked him all sort of questions – mainly thinking that he'd know some interesting stories about their dad and you never knew when this kind of knowledge would come in handy! Cassie joined them too and of course it had nothing to do with being close to Keenan. No, because then she'd be sitting next to him and not across him! Right?

The twins, needing a break from all that running around and playing with Teal'c, were happy enough to just sit with their mom for a while. Caity chose her favourite spot on her mommy's lap and simply listened to the stories her grandpa and sometimes even Uncle George were telling Lucas and Keenan. And Janet, well, she decided to better keep track of both her daughter and her patient, though both would have protested if she'd tell them that.

Dinner was quite uneventful, or as uneventful as the presence of two 3-year olds and a 7-year old would allow it to be. And of course everyone loved the dessert, even as the kids dug into the slightly disturbing looking green jello. The cake was a big hit too, although both Jocelyn and Sam made sure that the three girls got only very small portions and when they started to protest they were promised some more cake in the morning.

After dinner Jacob asked the twins if they would show him their house. Giggling, they agreed and taking one hand each they dragged him into the house. Jocelyn and Jake were fine with that, as although the girls would be roaming around, they probably wouldn't get sick from too much running. And keeping those two busy was always a good thing anyway.

Everyone else helped clearing the dinner table so this took only a couple of minutes and they went back out to enjoy the rest of the warm summer day.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Hey, I just found this in the kitchen and was wondering if you wanna keep it or if you want me to throw it into the garbage can?" Jack – a giggling Caity thrown over his shoulder – asked a little while later when he came back from getting some more beverages from his truck.

Raising his eyebrows at George Hammond and Jacob, who where both shaking their heads at his behaviour, he simply said, "What? I'm just trying to help here!"

"Sure," Jacob replied chuckling. "Ever the helpful Colonel."

"Hey!" Jack answered indignantly.

"You do know that a full tummy and the position your _giggling garbage_ is in is the best recipe to get _really _smelly stuff all over yourself?" Sam asked amused.

"What?… eww, yuk!" Jack replied, eyes bulging out slightly once he realised what Sam meant. As he sure didn't want any puke all over himself, he quickly sat down and put Caity on his lap, asking her concerned if she felt okay. "You okay?"

"Yep," she replied giggling before continuing curiously, "What's yuk, Jack?"

Ignoring the snorts coming from everyone around, he answered, "Ah… nothing. I just remembered something really yucky, okay?"

"Okay," pleased with the answer, Caity gave him a kiss on his cheek and squirmed off his lap.

"Good save, Jack." Daniel commented helpful.

"Yeah, you know me… "

"That's why I said it was a _good_ save!"

"Jeez! Thanks for your confidence, Daniel," Jack said sarcastically.

"Anytime Jack, anytime." Daniel replied, enjoying their little banter tremendously.

"Boys, stop it! We have enough kids around as it is!" Janet interrupted them, amused.

"Spoilsport," both Jack and Daniel muttered, causing them to grin at each other in their new-found harmony.

Rolling her eyes at them, Janet turned to Sam and shaking her head, said, "Kids… ".

xoxoxoxoxo

Later, as the sun started to set, everyone but George Hammond and Jacob were out on the lawn, playing a game of family football. Sam, Keenan, Teal'c, Maia, Lena and Jocelyn were playing in one team and Jack, Cassie, Lucas, Caity, Janet and Jake were in the other. Daniel, who wasn't playing either, was sitting on the other side of the 'field' playing referee. Poor Jack.

Daniel's involvement also left the two older men alone to watch and enjoy the game – and talk. Of course, they'd known each other for ages so there was a lot to talk about, especially with the newest developments in Jacob's family-life and the effect it had on the SGC. So when Sam was once again in the possession of the football and both Jack and Jake tackled her, George just shook his head smiling and turned to Jacob who sighed deeply.

"You are aware of the newest betting pools, aren't you?" George asked his old friend.

"Oh yeah," Jacob replied, sighing once again. "Today, I – or make that Selmak – overheard one of the airmen placing a bet in the, quote, 'Who is the man?'-pool formerly known as 'Who-is-the-babies-father'-pool. I swear, without Selmak I'd have had the second heart-attack in just as many days!"

"You have to admit though, my people are very creative," Hammond replied chuckling.

"That they are … that they are." Jacob answered, shaking his head. "Do you think they are aware of the bets?" he continued, motioning towards the ongoing game.

"Well, I'm not sure about Dr. Jackson, but Sam, Jake and Jack don't. Though I'm positive Dr. Frasier and Teal'c know."

"Teal'c?" Jacob asked doubtfully.

"Oh yes. I'd say he's the uncrowned bet-king of the SGC. Though as for how he does it, I have no idea." George answered good-naturedly.

"Do you think it's going to be a problem?" Jacob asked after a while.

"As long as it helps to keep up the moral and doesn't interfere with anyone's work, it's fine with me." George Hammond replied cautiously.

"We both know that's not what I meant."

"It hasn't been a problem so far…"

"… but their relationship changed in the last several weeks."

"Yes. But I'm not so sure _they_ noticed. And as long as they don't, I'd say we are safe. For now anyways." George Hammond finished.

"I just don't want to see my daughter getting into trouble," Jacob replied seriously.

"Neither will I. Trust me on that one, okay?" George asked.

"I do. I just want my little girl to be happy, you know," Jacob finally replied after several minutes.

"And I absolutely understand that. So by the way, you're accepting that she'll eventually choose O'Neill?" George Hammonds asked his friend curiously.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice, does it?" Jacob answered somewhat defeated while motioning towards where Sam had just tackled Jack.

"You'll survive," George replied, slapping his shoulder encouragingly.

"Hopefully."

xoxoxoxoxo

By the time it was too dark to play outside, the twins were ready to fall asleep on the spot. Janet asked Jocelyn if she could help with them and so the two woman went to get Lena and Maia ready for bed. Caity, though not tired enough to go to bed – she had had quite a long nap in the afternoon – was content to just cuddle with her mom, listening to everyone else talking.

Jack, having realised his sunglasses weren't in his pocket anymore, went back outside to look for them. Finally spotting them on one of the lawn chairs, he went to grab them and was about to turn to head back inside when he saw some movement in the far end of the backyard. Silently walking closer he recognised Cassie, gazing at the few already visible stars.

"Hey," he said quietly, not wanting to startle her with his sudden presence.

Turning around in surprise, Cassie removed a couple of tears from her cheek and gave him a half-smile.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked concerned, moving to hug her from behind.

"Nothing," she replied lamely, laying both her arms on Jack's around her midriff and leaning back into him.

"Ah. Nothing." Jack answered, kissing the top of her head. "Wanna talk about … nothing?"

"I'm fine," Cassie started and smiled when she could actually _feel_ Jack raising his eyebrows. "Really. It's just that all the fun we had this evening, especially the game and all, reminded me of home. You know, we used to play a somewhat similar game on Hanka during the celebrations after we finished with the harvest. I still remember, when I was small, my dad used to pick me up and run across the field with me, just like Teal'c did with Maia and Lena. I guess I just went a bit sentimental, you know."

"Hey, no need to apologise. Just don't shut us out when you feel like that, okay?" Jack asked quietly, hugging her a bit tighter.

"Okay and thanks. For everything." Cassie replied, feeling much better already.

"You're welcome. So… what do you think of Keenan?" Jack asked mischievously.

"Ja-ack!"

"What? I'm just concerned about my favourite little alien girl!"

"I'm not little anymore, you know!" Cassie answered, turning around to face him. "And Keenan is non of your business!"

"Hey! Who are you and where did you leave the sweet little girl I held in my arms just moments ago?" Jack asked shocked.

"Thanks!" Cassie replied laughing, kissing him on his cheek and left for the house.

Pleased with himself, Jack looked up at the stars once more and followed Cassie at a more sedate pace – only to be interrupted by Jake.

"Hanka?" Jake asked incredulously. Seeing Jack's expression change into something he had only heard about until now, he nervously continued. "Uhm, one of the girls shoes is missing and Jocelyn sent me to look for it. When I saw you standing there I just wanted to see if you're alright and kinda overheard your conversation. Sorry."

Taking his time to watch Jake and judge his reaction, Jack finally sighed deeply, tiredly rubbing his hand over his face and replied. "The people of Hanka were the average peaceful, somewhat less-advanced humans we made contact with. Didn't help them much though as everyone but Cassie was killed by a Goa'uld. We could hardly leave her there on her own so we took her back with us and Janet adopted her."

"Oh, I didn't know that." Jake replied, truly shocked by that revelation. "But there's more to it, right? I don't think after all I heard and read about the Goa'uld, that they just walk around and kill all but one person. They was most likely a reason to keep her alive, wasn't there?"

"Maybe. But that's not my story to tell. Cassie is just like your average teenage girl from earth." Jack replied, hoping Jake would understand.

"Only that she isn't from earth," Jake answered, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah, well, nobody is perfect," Jack replied flippantly.

"Obviously. She seems like a great kid, though."

"That she is." Jack answered grinning at Jake. He knew their must be a reason why he liked this guy.

They were standing around in silence, everyone caught up in his own thoughts, before Jake started to talk again, though the seriousness of the previous talk was all but gone.

"So just let me get this straight… I'm working with a couple of aliens to solve one of their problems. My sister has some alien protein marker and element in her blood, and was possessed by more than one alien being so far. My dad is actually sharing his body with an alien. My sweet little twins newest and most loved toy actually is an alien warrior and now you're telling me that my oldest son's girlfriend-to-be is an alien too?"

"Yep. That sums it up nicely… . Oh, and Sam blew up a sun. Once." Jack answered smugly.

"She blew up a sun. Once." Jake repeated incredulously.

"Yep."

"Wow."

"I know."

"I'd better stay on the good side with my littler sister then, right?"

"Might be a good idea," Jack replied grinning, before continuing with a twinkle in his eyes. "You do know I'm going to have a nice little chat with Keenan, right?"

"Oh yeah. Try to not give him any nightmares, though." Jake replied.

"Who, me?" Jack answered indignantly.

"Yes, you." Jake replied chuckling. "By the way, you do realise that _we_ are going to have a little chat too, right?"

"Huh?" Jack asked completely confused. "Didn't we just have a nice and long talk?"

"Yeah, but not about _that_!" Jake replied smiling.

"About _what_?" Jack asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"_That_." Jake answered, enjoying himself way too much – in Jack's opinion anyway. Must be the special Carter-gene or something.

"_That_?" Jack repeated incredulously.

"Yep!" This said, Jake turned and walked back into the house, leaving a very confused Colonel behind.

_

* * *

A/N: So liked it, didn't like it? Please review!_

_Okay, I said at least two weeks, right? Right? Anyway, sorry it took longer, but sometimes RL can be quite demanding … . Nevertheless updates should be coming more regular again – hopefully ;-). That said, thanks again for all the reviews! They really help me move this one forward, even if RL comes in the way from time to time :-)._


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

After the success of the barbeque, the relationship between Jake and his father continued to improve. It might have been helping that Jake had to work over the weekend with the other two Tok'ra, while Jacob spent most of the time with his grandchildren, not knowing how long he'd be able to stay or when he'd have to leave again. So there was not much time to fight, anyway. Of course, it also kept Jacob closer to Sam, who he was still more than worried about, which gave him another common ground with his son.

By the end of the weekend, Jacob was also sure that George's assessment was correct. The relationship between Sam and Jack had definitely changed – even though they seemed to be oblivious to it. He still wasn't sure what to make of it – should he be happy, should he be worried – but he was willing to accept either outcome, as long as it made his daughter happy. Also, when George left the other night, Jacob saw something in his eyes that told him George was a man on a mission, that he had a plan. So when Jacob was finally called back Sunday night, he was quite confident that things would work out fine. Before he left though, he called on Teal'c to help him place a little bet himself – if his daughter was going to end up with a certain pain-in-the-ass-colonel, he'd at least make some money out of it!

xoxoxoxoxo

"So, dad's gone?" Jack asked from where he was standing at the door to Sam's lab.

"Yeah," Sam replied without looking up. Not that she was working or anything, but the screensaver was so damn hypnotising and she didn't want the Colonel to worry about her staring into space. So instead, she played being busy.

"You okay with that?" Jack asked concerned, not being fooled by her display busy for a second.

"Sure. It's not like anything happened recently that would make me wish to have my dad around! So everything is just peachy!" she replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, dumb question," Jack replied wincing.

Sighing deeply, Sam finally looked up at him. "I'm sorry, sir. It's just… " she started sounding frustrated.

"Hey, it's okay. Give yourself time, no one expects you to go back to business as usual just like that." Jack said seriously while moving over to her.

"Still, I hate feeling of being out of control. It sucks," Sam answered pouting.

"I know, but that's what friends are for." Jack answered, squeezing her hand. "So, how about some cake?" he added on a much lighter note.

"Cake? It's not even lunch-time yet!" Sam replied incredulously.

"Ahh! I'm talking timeless chocolate cake here. Best against depressions and company!" Jack answered, imitating Daniel in lecture-mode.

"Ja-ack," Daniel said from the doorway, clearly not amused after hearing the last part of Jack's statement.

"Daniel! Long time no see! Care for some cake?" Jack replied nonchalantly, turning around to face his friend. Daniel definitely had the worst timing ever! Oh well, at least Sam was smiling now.

"Now?"

"No, next weekend!" Jack replied exasperated. Did no one around here know that you can eat cake at any given time? "Of course now!"

Seeing Sam shrugging her shoulders but moving towards the door, Daniel agreed. "Sure, why not." They had eaten weirder things at weirder times and Sam looked like she could use the distraction.

xoxoxoxoxo

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Jack asked after entering General Hammond's office over a week later.

"Yes, Jack. Why don't you close the door?"

Still wondering why he was here, and judging by General Hammond's friendly greeting he couldn't have done anything to annoy him too much, Jack closed the door and sat on the chair the General was pointing at.

Fiddling with the pen he snatched from the General's desk, Jack looked at him expectantly. "So … what can I do for you today?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk about Major Carter." General Hammond replied chuckling.

"Oh?" Jack asked curiously.

"SG-12 just came back from P2S-4C3 and it sounds like the planet might be worth investigating further. There are no imminent dangers involved, no recent Goa'uld activities whatsoever. The locals seem friendly and eager for friendship, their level of technology is comparable to ours in the 1940s. I thought it might be an interesting follow-up mission for SG-1, including Major Carter. If you think she's up to it."

"Overnight?"

"Would that be a criterion to bring Major Carter?" Hammond asked interested.

"The mission sounds easy enough and I'm sure she'd be up for it, sir. Still, I'd prefer to make it nothing more than a day-trip for Carter. Depending on how it goes, she could still come back the next morning." Jack replied thoughtfully.

Thinking about his 2IC's proposal, General Hammond started to really like the idea. For one, he knew Jack wouldn't take his 2IC on a mission if he thought she wasn't ready. But Hammond also thought of his conversation with the President this morning, and after that he would really like to see her back on track soon.

"Good. The daytime on P2S-4C3 more or less matches our own, so it can easily be a day-trip mission. I trust your judgement on that matter. Mission briefing will be today at 1600 and you'll ship out first thing tomorrow morning, 0800 sharp," General Hammond finally replied.

"Yes, sir!" Jack replied, before continuing thoughtfully, as he was getting the feeling General Hammond was holding back on something. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Nothing that can't wait until after the mission," Hammond replied, wondering just how his 2IC had picked up on that one. "Dismissed," he added shooing him out of his office. He had something else to do, after all.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Hey."

"Hi," Sam answered looking up from her computer screen – and this time she _was_ working.

"I heard you're heading out on a mission tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing dangerous and I'll be back at night," Sam answered, shrugging her shoulders. It wasn't such a big deal after all.

"You sure you're up to it though?"

"Jake, don't worry. I'll be fine." Sam replied reassuringly. "Apart from that, the Colonel wouldn't let me go on this mission if he wouldn't be sure I could handle it."

Sighing deeply, Jake replied, "Yeah, I know. But I'm still worried about you."

"And I wouldn't want it any different. However, I'm all grown-up now and can take care of myself!"

"I know. Just be careful, okay?"

"I promise," Sam replied sincerely, before adding on a lighter note. "Now let me finish this or I'll be home late again."

"All right, all right. I'm going." Jake answered, rolling his eyes at his sister. Then again, he had to have a serious talk with Jack anyway.

Figuring a good chance of finding Jack when he wasn't in his sister's lab was to look in Daniel's office, Jake went straight there. And everyone crossing his way, immediately recognised this man was on a mission. Stopping just before Daniel's office to catch his breath, Jake finally knocked and entered – and sure enough found both Jack and Daniel in there.

"Hey guys!" Jake greeted enthusiastically. "Watcha doing?"

"Nothing important," Jack replied grinning. "Just helping Danny-boy a bit."

"Yeah sure. Annoying me would be the better description though," Daniel grumbled.

"Ah. Just ignore him. He's just grumpy because he can't pull an all-nighter before our mission tomorrow morning," Jack answered grinning.

"I'm not grumpy!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!" Daniel said exasperating, before continuing more subdued, "Anyway, Jake, did you want anything special? Anything I can help you with?"

"No, thanks Daniel. I was actually looking for Colonel O'Neill." Jake replied, looking straight at Jack.

"_Colonel O'Neill_, huh?" Daniel asked grinning. That sounded like Jack was in for something and Daniel had all intentions of enjoying this as much as possible.

"Jake? Something wrong?" Jack asked slightly nervous. Not that he was afraid of Jake or anything, but Jake had never called him by his rank before. On the contrary, Jack thought they were buddies, on the way to becoming really good friends but at this moment he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Not really. I just wanted to talk to you," Jake started, enjoying Jack's nervousness just a little bit. Okay, maybe more than just a little bit.

"Okay… talk."

"Well, I heard you're going on mission tomorrow," Jake started seriously. "And Sam's coming with you."

"So?" Jack asked confused. That's what they always did – go on missions, come back from missions, business as usual. Nothing special to talk about.

"Well, we are talking about my little sister here and I just wanted to make sure you know your responsibilities." Jake pointed out.

"Jake, I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing to worry about. SG-1 always looks after each other and we won't stop that now." Jack replied, trying to assure Jake.

"I know. But it's Sam first mission after … a long time. A lot of things have changed, so it is by no means one of your usual missions." Jake said agitated.

"Jake, I wouldn't take her if I wasn't 100 percent sure she'd be up to it, which I am. So stop worrying, relax and we'll be back before you'll know it!" Jack replied, trying to calm the younger man down.

"Jack, I'm serious. I know I can trust you, or Daniel and Teal'c for that matter. I just want you to take extra care with Sam, okay? I want you to make sure she eats enough, doesn't do anything stupid or dangerous and please, never let her wander off on her own. You wouldn't believe what kind of trouble she managed to find as a child. Especially when she was preoccupied with something." Jake explained seriously before smiling in remembrance, "Actually, I remember this one time when she-"

"Jake, relax!" Jack started, holding up his hands to stop him, "It's not like we are going on a dangerous mission or a place our people haven't been before! Besides, SG-1 is going on missions for close to 5 years already, don't you think I know how to handle Carter by now, even when she's preoccupied or something? Don't you think your speech comes a little late?" Jack finished somewhat agitated.

"So? Better late than never!" Jake replied and Jack could have sworn he was pouting. Which was just wrong on so many levels. Carter pouting was cute. Daniel pouting was, well, Daniel. Teal'c pouting? Very scary and hopefully never gonna happen. But Jake pouting? Ugh.

"Yeah, like 5 years late… ." Jack grumbled, before continuing normally, "Jake, listen. I know you are concerned about Sam, but-" seeing the I'm-not-so-convinced look Jake was giving him, Jack sighed tiredly and conceded, "Okay, okay. We'll take extra care on this mission and watch Sam more carefully. Happy?"

"Yep. That wasn't so difficult, now, was it?" Jake asked. "Anyway, I have to go. See you tomorrow."

And with that, Jake was gone – and spotting a big grin too. Well, he wanted to bring his point across to Jack – and he did. But there was no rule that he wasn't allowed to have a little fun with it too. So he decided on exaggerating his lecture. Slightly.

Jack, on the other hand, was frustrated. What the hell was that about? After all, no matter what happened, they always came back from their missions. Eventually. And none of them would ever think of leaving one of their own behind! So why was Jake suddenly making such a fuss about it? He thought Jake trusted him, but his little display of over-protectiveness towards his sister hurt Jack's pride. Even if he wasn't going to admitting it.

Daniel, in contrast, was having the time of his life. He was standing at the back of his office, kinda out of their eye-sight, and over the course of the conversation his initial slight smile had turned into a full fledged grin. Because, just for once, _Jack_ was on the receiving end of endless safety instructions and what-to-do/what-not-to-do lectures. Usually, it was the other way around as Jack liked to give similar speeches to any SG-team leader who was taking Daniel on a mission. And though Daniel was never present when Jack was handing out advice, he was still well aware of that he was doing it – and it got annoying after a while. Not today though, and he enjoyed watching Jack getting something of his own medicine.

"Interesting lecture, don't you think?" Daniel couldn't help himself but ask as soon as Jake had left his office.

"Daniel!" Jack said warningly.

But Daniel didn't want to forget it just yet, he wanted to have some fun so he replied innocently, "What? I thought it was interesting, especially the part with Sam's tendency to run off!"

"At least _she_ seemed to have grown out of that one! Unlike another person on my team!" Jack replied annoyed, before leaving as well.

Shrugging his shoulders, Daniel went to his desk and started working again. At least Jack was gone now and he might just be able to get in several more hours of work. Or so he was allowed to think for full 5 minutes – because that's when Jack came back.

"Don't even think about it! Your office closes at 2000 sharp and won't open until after we return from our mission!" Jack said cheerfully.

Daniel sighed. Apparently Jack had found a way to improve his mood immediately – namely coming back and annoying Daniel some more. Oh well, maybe some sleep _wasn't_ such a bad idea after all.

xoxoxoxoxo

When Jake walked into the gate room to see Sam off the next morning, he was taken aback by her appearance or better the weaponry she was carrying. True, he knew she wasn't only a scientist but a soldier too and a member of the frontline team at that, but he'd never seen her fully geared up. And for a supposedly easy mission, too! This was his baby sister, so how could she look comfortable with all these weapons?

"Jake, don't worry. I'll be careful," Sam said to him, sensing his uncertainty. "And the weapons are only a precaution."

"You sure?"

"Yes, absolutely," Sam replied confidently. She might have been a bit nervous before, but in reassuring her brother she also won the last of her confidence back. "I kinda missed this, going through the Stargate and all."

"Just come back safe and sound, okay?"

"I promise."

Seeing Daniel, the last missing member of SG-1, enter the gate room, Jake turned to Sam once again. "I guess that's my clue to leave."

"Yep. See you tonight."

Making eye-contact with Jack once more, Jake nodded and then turned and went to the command centre to watch them leave. While this might have seemed strange and caused more than a few raised eyebrows only a month ago, no one thought this odd anymore. Because for some unknown reason, Dr. Pullman had quickly gained the respect and friendship of SG-1. And that counted a lot within the SGC.

When the seventh chevron was locked and the event horizon had settled within the big ring, all members of SG-1 turned towards the command centre again – saluting, waving, nodding – and then they moved as one through the gate. Suddenly Jake understood just what exactly made SG-1 special – and that his sister was indeed safe.

The mission that day went smoothly. Jack was pleased that Sam had a field day with the scientists of P2S-4C3, apparently they had a very powerful mineral at hand or something. Daniel had found some geek to keep him interested too, so everyone was in a good mood. Well, he and Teal'c stood around, watched over the kids, talked to a couple of people and were generally bored, but were nevertheless happy that everything went as planned.

After spending the night on Earth, SG-1 came back and this time some sightseeing was in order. Well, Daniel wanted to talk to his new found geek friend and decided to miss out on the sightseeing, but promised to be back before trade negotiations started that afternoon.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.

xoxoxoxoxo

Jake was about to ask Janet if she'd like to join him for lunch, when the klaxons started blaring.

_Unauthorized off-world activation. Unauthorized off-world activation._

As that was shortly followed by the call for a medical team, Jake froze. After all, Sam was out there and he just prayed that she was alright. Getting over his initial shock he quickly followed Janet out of the infirmary and only minutes later breathed a sigh of relief when he saw all seemingly unhurt members of SG-1 walking towards them.

"Daniel's been exposed to radiation, he might still be radioactive," Sam said as soon as she saw Janet.

And Jake wasn't feeling that relieved anymore. Especially after he had heard just how much radiation Daniel had been exposed to – and he didn't need Sam to point out that this was a lethal dose. He also knew that Daniel had no more than 10, maybe 15 hours to live.

Looking up at Sam, seeing the pain in her eyes, all he wanted to do was to hug her and tell her everything would be alright. But they both knew that Daniel wouldn't be alright. And as General Hammond had just ordered them to the briefing room, the hug wasn't going to happen either. Not with all the base personnel around anyway. Instead, Jake settled on squeezing her shoulder before she turned around to go after her CO and Teal'c. Just before the corner, Jack was waiting for Sam and for the briefest of moments put his hand on the small of her back in a silent gesture of support. At least his sister wasn't going to be alone.

Jake felt completely numb. The first thing he did when he returned to his lab, because where else could he go, was to call his wife and tell her that probably neither him nor Sam would be coming home tonight. After that he just sat there, staring into space. Why did these things always happen to his sister? Was there some bored powerful being around, trying to see what it'd take to break his sister? Or was it simply bad luck, karma, whatsoever?

Not being able to concentrate on anything, Jake finally decided to take a walk. Maybe it would help to clear his thoughts, but he highly doubted it. He didn't even think about where he was going, but soon found himself in front of the infirmary. It didn't take a genius to figure out which room Daniel was in and as Jake came close he could hear Daniel and Jack talking. Not wanting to disturb them, he turned around and kept walking until he finally stood in front of Sam's lab. He simply stood there and watched her for a while.

"Hey. How long are you going to just stand there?" Sam finally asked almost inaudible. She was sitting in front of her computer, staring blankly at the monitor.

"Hey." Jake replied quietly, before closing the door behind him and walking over to his sister. He simply opened his arms and without further encouragement Sam went into her brother's embrace, letting her tears flow freely.

"We contacted the Asgard and the Tok'ra to see if they can help, but haven't heard from them so far," Sam said quietly, once she'd finally calmed down. "I don't want him to die," she added almost whining.

"I know." Jake replied, stroking her back soothingly. "I don't want him to die either."

"I should get back to work," Sam finally said, moving out of her brother's embrace and turning back to her computer.

"Why don't you go and see Daniel?" Jake asked cautiously.

"I will. But the Colonel is with him now and I don't want to intrude," Sam replied before pointing at the monitor. "And I want to have a look at this."

"What is it?"

"Well, the amount of radiation Daniel was exposed to is enormous. So I'm trying to estimate the amount of energy the experiment created to draw conclusions on the actual power of the mineral they used."

"Sam, don't do this to yourself," Jake pleaded.

"He's right, you know?" Jack added quietly from where he was standing in the slightly opened door.

Sensing the other's two need to spent some time alone, Jake said, "I'd better get going. Oh, and I told Jocy neither of us would be home tonight, okay?"

"Thanks," Sam replied quietly.

Nodding towards Jack, silently asking him to watch after Sam, Jake left the two to themselves.

"So, got anything?" Jack asked while moving to stand close to Sam, his hand resting on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Like I said before, I've been doing some calculations," Sam started, telling Jack just how much potential the naquadria had.

xoxoxoxoxo

While Jack went back to Kelowna to _talk_ to the government about the naquadria, Sam went to see and talk to Daniel. She became more and more desperate as they hadn't heard from either of their allies and finally suggested on using the healing device on him. Jack was back by then and stood together with Teal'c, Jake and General Hammond in the observation room to watch and pray that it may work. Daniel didn't stand a chance otherwise.

"So Sam actually uses her mind to control this healing device?" Jake asked no one in particular.

"Yeah, but she rarely uses it as it takes a lot out of her, both physically and mentally." Jack said quietly.

"But desperate times… " Jake replied thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

Almost watching in wonder as the device started to glow over Daniel – he was a scientist after all, he didn't realised there was a problem at first. But as soon as he saw Jack and Teal'c storming out of the observation room, he quickly followed. Apparently, Sam hadn't be able to help Daniel but might even have made it worse. When Jake entered Daniel's room, Sam was already standing in the back, looking in horror at Daniel. Jack was moving up beside her, touching her back comfortingly. Jake moved to her other side, taking her hand in his and squeezing it lightly before both he and Jack led her out of the room to let Janet work.

Several hours later Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Jake had said their own personal good-bye to Daniel. Jake might not have known the other man for long, but he was aware of the big influence he had on his sisters life and the close relationship they shared. Sam considered Daniel as brother, so, in a way, he was Jake's brother too. He and Daniel might not have spent much time to consider this aspect, but that wasn't going to stop Jake. There was still time to thank him for everything that he had done for Sam and to share some funny stories about Sam as a kid.

Jake was about to leave, when Sam entered Daniel's room again, gripping Jake's hand tightly. He was going to say something, when the klaxons announced the second unauthorized off-world activation for the day. Only a couple of minutes later, Jacob along with General Hammond and the rest of SG-1 entered the room.

"Hey Sam. I'm so sorry," Jacob said, hugging his daughter tightly. Leaving Sam in her brother's care once again, Jacob moved over to Daniel, getting ready to use the healing device.

"I tried this, it didn't work," Sam said quietly.

"We'll do our best," Selmak replied and started the process.

After several long minutes, Daniel's fast deteriorating life-signs finally started to improve again.

Looking around the room, Jake could see that everyone was holding their breath. Everyone was subdued and Jack sported an expression Jake had never seen on the man before.

And, suddenly, in a flash of light, Daniel was gone.

_

* * *

A/N: I know you are waiting for Sam and Jack finally getting together for good, and I promise it will happen! But I had to get this one out of the way first – and hope you like it Muse laughs maniacally in the background. Please review! Thanks :-)._

_Once again I'm sorry about the lack of updates lately, but I hope the frequency will increase eventually. After the next chapter to be exact. _


	28. Chapter 28

_And, suddenly, in a flash of light, Daniel was gone._

**Chapter 28**

As were the rest of SG-1.

Shocked at what just happened, Jake looked at the remaining occupants of the room and was even more surprised to see all of them smiling.

"What the hell is going on here? SG-1, including _my little sister_, just vanished and all you can do is standing around grinning like crazy?" Jake all but shouted. He couldn't believe it! How could they look so smug, while for all he knew Daniel was dead and Sam was gone, too!

"Jake, calm down," Jacob tried to reassure his son.

"WHAT? Are you nuts? Sam just vanished and you expect me to calm down?" Jake asked wide-eyed.

"Easy, son," General Hammond started. "The flash of light you've seen is the telltale sign of the Asgard beaming technology," he continued before Jake could bite his head off too. Even though it might be bald, he still liked his head right where it was.

"Asgard beaming technology?" Jake asked confused.

"Yeah, looks like Thor came just in time." Janet answered relieved. "Hopefully he'll be able to help Daniel."

"Oh! You think the Asgard can truly help? And why didn't they give a little warning before beaming people out of here?" Jake asked somewhat calmer.

"That's Thor for you," Janet replied chuckling. "I'm sure, the Colonel can tell you more about it though!"

"As for helping Daniel, the Asgard are a very advanced race – and that includes their medical abilities. I'm certain they can do more to help Daniel than we ever could." Selmak added to answer Jake's first question.

"But Daniel seemed to be getting better while you … used that device," Jake replied, his curiosity coming back full force.

"While that is correct, we wouldn't have been able to heal him completely. Daniel would still have had a long recovery time ahead of him." Selmak replied.

"But… never mind," Jake said. "And what are we going to do now?"

Sighing deeply, General Hammond replied, "Now, we wait."

Meanwhile…

"What the –" Jack started before realising where he was. "Thor! Buddy! It's great – it's really, _really_ great to see you!" he continued enthusiastically. Though Sam's hug for Thor might just have outscored his own display of happiness. But one thing was for sure, Jack was never as glad to be beamed up by Thor unannounced, as he was now. Hell, even Teal'c was grinning like the cat that ate the canary!

"Greetings, O'Neill." Thor replied, still shocked by the passionate greetings he got from his human friends. "Major Carter, Teal'c."

"Hi Thor," Sam replied, blushing brightly, while Teal'c tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"So, can you help Daniel?" Jack asked serious once again.

"Uhm, where _is_ Daniel?" Sam added.

"Daniel Jackson's injuries are very grave and I had to put him into stasis in order to heal him. However, the Asgard stasis pod is not designed for humans so I had to –" Thor paused, before continuing seemingly astonished, "- improvise."

"Really?" Sam asked amazed while Teal'c raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"So? Where is he?" Jack asked slightly impatient. As much as he liked Thor and was grateful for his help, he still wanted to know where his friend was. "What?" he added irritated after seeing his friends faces.

"Sir, Thor _improvised_. That isn't something the Asgard do on a daily base," Sam explained.

"Oh... So, where is Daniel? _How_ is Daniel?" Jack asked again, causing Sam to smile slightly.

"As I explained before, I had to improvise to put him into stasis and I am afraid I cannot take you into the chamber he occupies at the moment," Thor answered patiently.

"What? Why not?" Jack asked exasperated.

"It would interfere with Daniel Jackson's recuperation," Thor stated.

"Huh?"

"Oh! Do you mean turned the whole chamber you put Daniel in into some sort of a stasis pod?" Sam asked curiously.

"That is correct, Major Carter," Thor replied.

"Wow! That is … that is amazing! Can we see him though? I mean, can you put him on one of the screens or something?" Sam asked.

"Of course. Although I must warn you, the damage to his cells is serious and it will take several days for him to recover." Thor said before moving some the controls.

As soon as the picture of Daniel appeared on the screen, everyone looked at it in horror.

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, while Sam tried to stifle a gasp. Even Teal'c looked slightly ill. For on the screen they could see Daniel – who seemed to be asleep or unconscious but not in pain – from the waist up. That wouldn't have been bad, especially with the reassuring display of his life signs in the corner of the screen, but his bandages were gone and every visible inch of skin looked like it has been badly burned. Very badly. If they wouldn't know it was Daniel, there was no way they would have recognised him.

Seeing Sam transfixed on the screen, tears running down her face, Teal'c turned to Thor, who nodded in understanding and turned the picture off, but left Daniel's life signs visible. While watching Daniel, the members of SG-1 had subconsciously moved closer together with Jack and Teal'c each putting a hand on Sam's shoulders.

"He _will_ recover completely, right?" Jack asked finally, still shocked.

"That is correct."

"Is he in any pain?" Sam all but whispered.

"Do not worry, Major Carter. He won't feel any pain as long as he's in the stasis chamber."

"And he'll stay their until he's completely healed?" Sam asked, needing to hear it once again.

"Indeed." Thor replied.

"Sweet!" Jack answered, trying to lift everyone's spirits. "So, what are we gonna do now? Anyone brought cards, board games, anything? Carter, Tealc?"

"I have not."

"Sorry, sir."

"I shall beam you back to the SGC as I have to return to complete my original mission," Thor announced. "Daniel Jackson will be safe in the stasis chamber and I will return once he is completely healed."

"But we can't leave him here alone!" Sam replied.

"Yeah, why can't we just stay around?" Jack added.

"I am sorry, O'Neill. But my mission is of utter importance for the continuing existence of the Asgard race and the presence of any human would only interfere. However, as Daniel Jackson is in stasis, he will come to no harm. I shall return when your friend is healed." Thor answered before moving something on his console.

"Thor, buddy, can't-" Jack started before realising Thor had done it again. "I hate it when he does this!" he exclaimed to no one in particular.

"Sam? Thank god you're back!" Jake said at the same time, moving to hug his sister tightly. Seeing the tear stains on her face, he continued concerned. "What happened? George said you were beamed up by the Asgard and that they might be able to help Daniel? Where _is_ Daniel?"

"Well, long story short - Thor beamed us up, we chatted, we saw Daniel, Thor beamed us down again," Jack answered for Sam.

"Thor put Daniel Jackson into stasis to allow him to heal properly while he is not aware of any pain. However, this will take several days and as Thor was on an important mission before our call reached him, he beamed us down and left again. He shall be back once Daniel Jackson is recovered fully." Teal'c added.

"You saw Daniel? You sure he is stable?" Janet asked concerned. While Daniel's life signs did improve just before he was beamed up, his condition was still critical. And she had no idea what putting him into stasis would do to his already weakened body.

"Oh yeah. He looked just peachy," Jack replied sarcastically.

"His life signs were strong and stable when we saw him. But though his bandages were gone, his condition had not yet improved." Teal'c explained, understanding O'Neill's reaction. Even though all of them were battle hardened soldiers and had seen a lot of nasty things, seeing your friend in such a state was very hard to forget.

"Ouch," Janet replied wincing, suddenly understanding the faint tear tracks on Sam's face. She had a very good idea what Daniel must have looked like. But his life signs were stable and Thor said he'd be alright, so there was hope.

"Alright, people. It's been a long day. So why don't we all try and catch some sleep? We'll meet tomorrow – well, today, really – at 0900 in the briefing room," General Hammond stated. Receiving nods or 'Yes, sir' from everyone around, but saw no one actually move, he added, "Dismissed!"

When everyone was starting to move out, he continued, "Major Carter? A word please?" Seeing the questioning look his 2IC was giving him, he added, "It'll just take a second."

"Sir?" Sam asked confused but stayed behind.

"I received word from the higher ups regarding your request of less off-world duty," General Hammond stated. "They made a proposition I'd like to discuss with you. My office, 0800?"

"Oh! Uhm, yes sir. 0800 is fine." Sam asked, wondering if this was her end on SG-1.

"Don't worry. I think you'll like it," General Hammond tried to reassured her.

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

xoxoxoxoxo

Jack and the others had been waiting for her at the next corner. But after telling them that the General just wanted to talk to her before the briefing, she said her good nights and went to her quarters.

That was 2 hours ago. Yes, she was in bed and yes, she tried to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes she saw Daniel's burned body. So how was she supposed to sleep? Sighing deeply, she finally gave up and got dressed. Maybe some milk from the commissary would help, not that she really believed it anyway.

Taking the mug of warm milk with her, she decided to walk around a bit, so she might be tired enough to sleep afterwards. However, she had no idea how she ended up first in front of and only seconds later in Colonel O'Neill's office.

"Uhm, sorry sir," Sam said after realising she wasn't alone.

"Couldn't sleep?" Jack asked, motioning for her to take a seat.

"No, sir."

"Daniel?"

Sighing, Sam replied quietly, "Yeah. Every time I'm close to actually falling asleep, his burnt face pops up."

"Yeah. That wasn't a pretty sight," Jack replied, rubbing his face tiredly. Slowly rolling his chair over to Sam's, he continued, "So … any idea what Hammond wants?"

"Yeah," Sam answered sheepishly.

"And?" Jack probed gently, lightly nudging her shoulder with his own.

"Well, you know how I asked General Hammond to spent less time off-world? Apparently the higher ups made their decision." Sam replied.

"Ah." That also explained his feeling that General Hammond knew more than he let on when he had asked Jack if Sam was ready to go off-world.

"Yeah, apparently I'm going to like their idea," Sam added uncertain.

"Nervous?" Jack asked lightly, putting his legs onto his desk.

"Ya think?" Sam said sarcastically.

"Naw!" Jack replied chuckling. "Don't worry, you'll gonna be alright. If Hammond says you'll like it, then you will. Okay?" He added seriously.

"Yeah, thanks." Sam replied, feeling much better already. Logically, she knew all this before, but hearing it from Jack made it somehow more believable. And just because she felt like she could do it, she put her feet next to his on the desk.

When Teal'c went to Jack's office several hours later, he stopped at the door and smiled broadly at the view in front of him. His two friends were sitting side by side in office chairs, feet on Jack's desk, Sam's head resting on Jack's shoulders, hands touching and both were fast asleep. Walking around them, his smile grew even more after seeing the peaceful expressions on their faces. However, it was 0720 already and he knew Sam was supposed to meet General Hammond soon.

"O'Neill," he said, touching the man's arm lightly.

"Teal'c?" Jack asked confused, his brain refusing to wake up just yet. "What's wrong?"

"Major Carter needs to prepare for her meeting with General Hammond," Teal'c continued patiently.

"Wha… Right!" Jack answered, his brain finally catching up. Sort of. The last thing he remembered was him and Sam talking about Daniel, Caity and family in general. Looked like they got their sleep after all.

"Sam?" he asked, nudging her slightly. When she didn't even stir, he continued, "Carter! Wakey, wakey! Uncle George is waiting."

"Huh?" she replied sleepily, but once she realised just where she was, she all but jumped up.

"Easy, Carter. We fell asleep, nothing to worry about. And you still have enough time for a shower and a quick call home before your meeting with General Hammond," Jack replied soothingly.

Taking a deep breath, Sam tried to calm her racing heart. Looking at her watch, she realised that he was right. It might be tight, but one advantage at being in the military was to learn how to take very quick showers. Breakfast might have to wait, but she was too nervous to eat anyway. "Thanks, sir. Teal'c. See you both at the briefing!"

"You slept well?" Teal'c asked smiling, once Sam had left.

"Yep. So T, how about breakfast?" Jack replied casually as if he hadn't just woken up next to his 2IC. Seeing Teal'c raising his eyebrow, he added grinning, "I'm hungry. And the commissary is on the way to my quarters anyway. Kind of."

"I see."

"So, you coming?" Jack asked, when Teal'c didn't follow him but instead looked curiously at the camera in Jack's office - the obviously broken camera. Seeing Teal'c's questioning look, he continued, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "Ah that… it somehow keeps breaking and the technicians still have to repair it after last time."

Smiling broadly and nodding his head in appreciation, Teal'c followed Jack to the commissary.

* * *

_A/N: I know this is short, but I wanted to get you out of your misery… It's AU, so why would I kill Daniel? Huh? Have a little faith in me! LOL! Anyway, I already have the outline of the next two chapters, so I should have something new up soon – despite RL getting more and more busy…_


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Just as Jack had predicted, Sam managed to both have a shower and call Caity before her meeting with General Hammond. And what a call that had been! Caity had been happily babbling away – she could sure talk as fast as Daniel at his best – managing to fit every single minute of the previous day into nothing more than 5 minutes. Sam's head had still been spinning when she entered the General's office!

And now, less than an hour later, it was spinning again. She had just finished talking to General Hammond and was now standing in the briefing room, watching over the Stargate. Luckily, she had another 15 minutes until the official briefing about Daniel started, giving her some time to order her thoughts.

General Hammond had been right, the proposal sounded good - even great - to her and the logical thing would have been to accept it right away. But she hadn't. Accepting the new position would mean so many things – most prominently the end of a very important era in her life – and she wasn't sure she was ready for it.

She was still standing there when Jacob entered the briefing room. After watching her for several minutes, he and George had talked about the offer last night so he knew what was going on, Jacob went over to his daughter, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Jacob asked quietly.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sam answered just as quietly, "That's the million dollar question. I mean, I know what I should do … But-"

"But you _think_ it would change everything." Jacob finished knowingly.

"Yeah." Sam replied, then realising her dad's choice of words, she looked at him for the first time. "Don't you think it would?"

"Of course things will change, Sam. But they will either way, that's life after all. However, it's your call how much they'll change."

"Yeah, sure." Sam replied disbelievingly.

"Sam, look. You are one of the smartest persons I know, so _use_ that brain of yours and you'll find a way to make the very best out of it – no matter what your decision will be!"

"You really thinks so?" Sam asked, still doubtful and unsure of herself.

"Yes, as does Selmak. We both have the utmost confidence in you." Jacob answered seriously.

"Thanks, dad," Sam replied - smiling for the first time after leaving General Hammond's office – hugging her father tightly.

"Your welcome, kiddo," Jacob answered smiling, before whispering conspiratorially, "Now, let's get this meeting over with, I'm sure Jack and Teal'c are dying to hear what George had to offer!"

And seeing the two men in question, eying her with a mixture of curiosity and concern, she knew her dad was right. This wasn't a decision she could make on her own, this was a decision to be made with her friends' help. Feeling much better already, Sam smiled broadly and went to take her usual seat next to her CO, waiting for the meeting to start.

xoxoxoxoxo

"So, what's up?" Jack asked, trying to sound indifferent, once he, Teal'c and Sam reached the secluded clearing several hundred feet above the SGC.

"General Hammond offered me the position as Head of Research and Development at the SGC," Sam all but blurted out.

"There is no such Department at the SGC, however, it can be found at Area 51." Teal'c stated.

"What? How do you know this stuff anyway?" Jack asked confused. "And Area 51?"

"Teal'c is right, sir. However, according to some desk jockey, it'd be more efficient to coordinate all research – in the natural and applied science anyway – into one big department to work more efficiently. This set-up apparently worked wonders at Area 51. Anyway, up until now, the head of every single division reported to General Hammond – no matter how simple the occasion. By implementing an R&D department at the SGC, General Hammond would only have to deal with the head of R&D, who in return would deal with all the minor stuff and only bring the important things to General Hammond's attention, leaving him more time for his other tasks. Of course, it'd also simplify the dealings with Area 51 and the Pentagon." Sam explained.

"So you'd be the uber-geek?" Jack asked casually.

"Uber-geek?" Sam asked amused.

"Yeah, you know, keeping all those geeks from blowing up the base ... stuff like that."

"Well, you could put it that way, I suppose," Sam replied shrugging.

"And lots of paperwork too," Jack added.

"Yep."

"Sounds like fun..."

"Want the job?" Sam asked smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. Very funny," Jack replied shaking his head, before adding tentatively. "But-?"

"But?" Sam asked frowning.

"Well, their must be a 'BUT' because otherwise you'd be jumping up and down right now," Jack explained. "Figuratively spoken, of course!" he quickly added after seeing both Sam's and Teal'c's raised eyebrows.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

Of course they were right! There was a – using Jack's words – big honking 'BUT' hanging in the air. See? Everything already started to change – she never called him _Jack_ at work, not even in her thoughts. Hell, just a view weeks ago she hadn't allowed herself to call him Jack at all! And now he was Jack as soon as they left work. Of course, it was only so they wouldn't confuse Caity. But still...

Realising that Jack – See? Again! – and Teal'c were still waiting for an answer, Sam sighed deeply and admitted quietly, "It also means I'll have to leave SG-1."

Okay, _that's_ a problem, Jack thought. SG-1 without Sam? That just wasn't right!

Luckily, he was saved to think of an appropriate answer as Teal'c spoke up.

"Major Carter, did you not ask to spent less time off-world?" Teal'c asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah, but-" Sam answered, unsure of what Teal'c was going at.

"And does your new position not require you to go off-world frequently?" Teal'c continued.

"Yeah, but-"

"And will you not require our assistance on those travels?"

"Yeah, but-" Sam replied, still not knowing where this was going.

"Then you will not leave SG-1!" Teal'c concluded with a very satisfied smile.

"But I have to! If I become the head of R&D I have to give up SG-1!" Sam answered miserable. Why wouldn't he understand? It made it just that much more difficult to make the right decision.

"No Sam, T is right!" Jack replied grinning, slapping Teal'c's shoulder. You just gotta _love_ the big guy!

Groaning inwardly, Sam started again, "But, sir! I-"

Okay, maybe Sam was a bit slow today, but _he_ did understand the meaning of Teal'c's statement.

"Sam, listen! It's not about stupid patches on an uniform. You might officially leave SG-1, but whenever you go out there, we'll be going as well. Okay, you might not be with us on every single mission, but we'll still be SG-1 and no one at the SGC will think otherwise. And if you ask me, that's all that counts!" Jack said, trying to make Sam understand. Seeing her finally starting to realise what he and Teal'c were talking about – it was hard to ignore that starting full-blown smile after all – he leaned towards Sam and added conspiratorially, "And if you play your cards right, Teal'c might even nick a little SG-1 patch for you!".

Laughing out loud at the last comment, Sam stood up from the log she was sitting on and moved over to Teal'c, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you!" she finally whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey, what about me?" Jack asked playfully.

Turning around to face him, Sam asked innocently, "Sir?"

Shaking his head at his indignant 2IC, he nevertheless smiled and opened his arms for her, "C'mere."

Things were going to work out just fine. For all of them.

As soon as they went back inside, Sam – in the presence of the Colonel and Teal'c – went to General Hammond to accept the offered position. The General wasn't quite finished congratulating her, when Jack requested that SG-1 became Carter's official babysitters whenever she went off-world. Okay, Jack phrased it slightly different, but he didn't fool anyone in the room and the General was quick to agree. He had planned on doing so anyway.

So, come Monday might see Major Samantha Carter's officially leaving SG-1, yet it was more of a _'SG-1 is dead. Long live SG-1!'_-kinda deal and everyone involved could live with that.

In fact, the General was so pleased with everything, that despite it only being lunch-time he gave them the rest of the day off. Between Daniel's latest adventure with death and the newest developments they clearly had a lot to talk about. Besides, he had some phone calls to make, things to organise, a certain General/Tok'ra to talk to and the list went on and on.

xoxoxoxoxo

It was the following Monday and Sam was driving back to Cheyenne Mountain. Well, she was watching the landscape fly by while her dad was driving. Or maybe Selmak was, she wasn't too sure about that one. Anyway, she had truly enjoyed the weekend with her dad - and so had Caity. Her daughter was overjoyed to see her mom come home early on Friday and the two of them spent a quiet Friday night at home. On Saturday, her dad and Jack had joined them and they spent a fun day outside. For most of Sunday, it was once again only her and Caity, as her dad spent the day at Jake's place.

But now it was Monday, Sam was going to start her new position today and as if that wasn't enough, she also had to wear her dress blues. According to the Colonel _'the brass thought it was time for a morale boost thingy_', whatever that meant. Truth be told, she didn't really care anyway, she was far too nervous about her new job. Was she the right person to do this? Would the other scientists resent her for suddenly overlooking all their research, for possibly interfering, because she sure would have to do this occasionally? Would it truly be the same to go off-world with SG-1, even though she wasn't an official member anymore? What would Daniel say, once he finally came back? Would she-

"Samantha, we have arrived at the SGC," Selmak announced, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"What? Oh!" Sam replied surprised, nevertheless unbuckling and getting off the car. "That was quick."

"Well, you know how much Selmak loves to drive. Fast." Jacob replied chuckling, well aware of Sam's state of mind during their drive.

"Fast?" Sam looked up alarmed, "Do I want to know?" she added carefully.

Smiling, he preferred to refrain from answering that particular question. "Come on, we better hurry or you are going to be late!" Jacob said instead.

"Yeah, whatever," Sam replied sighing, not really in the mood for any official get-together.

Sam didn't really pay attention to who joined them in the elevator on their way down, so she was pretty annoyed when someone clearly wolf-whistled her. Ready to chew this person out, she was surprised to see her brother grinning at her. Still needing some outlet for her annoyance, she boxed his arm. Hard.

"Ow! What was that for?" Jake asked rather surprised.

"Uhm, natural response?" Sam replied. "What was the whistling for anyway?"

"Can't I show my appreciation to my little sister's good looks?" Jake asked amused.

"By whistling?" Sam asked, raising her eyebrow.

"So? I was feeling ... creative today! Besides, I haven't seen you in your dress uniform before and you look, well, stunning." Jake said grinning, earning him a chuckle from his dad.

"Fine. But whenever you are feeling creative again, try something else, okay?" Sam replied only half-serious.

"Yes ma'am!" Jake said, saluting her. "Don't worry, Sam. You'll be doing just fine," he added on a more serious note.

"Thanks," Sam replied gratefully. "You are aware that I'm your boss now?" she added grinning.

Apparently not. Judging by his dumbfounded look anyway.

The elevator chose that moment to arrive at its destination, and just before the door opened, Sam kissed her brother's cheek, grinning at him mischievously before hurrying towards the gate room. "Gotta go. See you later!"

Still chuckling, Jacob patted his son's shoulder reassuringly, "Come on, or we gonna miss the fun."

"Yeah, can't disappoint my new boss after all," Jake replied grinning, already thinking about the little fun with he could have with that new arrangement.

Father and son quietly entered the gate room, staying in the back, observing their surroundings.

General Hammond was just walking up the ramp towards the Stargate, stepping behind the podium set up there. Major Davis was standing next to the podium while gate room personnel was lining the ramp and the SG-teams were standing in a semi-circle in front of it, surrounded by other base personnel. It was a tight fit and still only a part of the SGC-personnel could be present. For that reason, the speakers throughout the SGC were connected to the microphone on the podium, so all personnel – both military and civilian – could listen into whatever was going to happen now.

As soon as General Hammond stepped behind the podium, everyone stood at attention.

General Hammond started, smiling at the people in front of him. "First, in the name of the President of the United States of America, I am honoured to congratulate every man and woman, civilian and military, to your ongoing valour, courage and bravery in order to keep each other, this country and this planet safe. Furthermore, to show his ongoing faith in everyone at the SGC, as of this morning, several military policies have been adapted to the special needs here at the SGC. The new handbooks will be available to everyone after lunch and will be given to you by your CO."

Taking a short break, the General observed the people in the gate room – his people – with more than just a little pride. Once again, their President saw it fit to address his men for their accomplishments in a fight, the world didn't know about. Looking pointedly at a certain Colonel, he continued, smiling.

"I am well aware that handbooks aren't the most favourite reading for some of you and as keeping to the old policies won't get anyone in trouble, I am sure some would prefer to never even take a look at it." Seeing the knowing smile in most of his people's faces, he was quick to continue. "So to peak your interest, let me explain some changes. One part that has been reviewed are the fraternization policies, that have been loosened to some degree."

Now _that_ got everyone's interest. And there was more than one head turning into the direction of a certain Colonel and Major, who both seemed to be oblivious to the stares they were getting. Seeing some faces fell slightly at his announcement, the General guessed they might have placed bets in favour of a Jake/Sam relationship. Rolling his eyes – mentally – he continued.

"However, while - as long as this won't interfere with their work - relationships between non-permanent and permanent SG-team members will be allowed, even if one will temporary be the direct supervisor of the other, relationships between permanent members of the same SG-team will still be strictly forbidden."

Yep, right now the General really loved his job. The faces of his people that had been smiling in anticipating of the things to come regarding the two officers of SG-1 fell again. They truly looked like kids that got their chocolate stolen from under their noses! Though it was even funnier to watch Sam and Jack, both still being oblivious to their comrades reactions to his announcement. Teal'c, on the other hand, seemed to rather enjoy himself, having tilted his head approvingly as he told them about the fraternisation rules.

"Now that I hopefully raised your interest in the new handbooks, I have a couple of more announcements to make," General Hammond continued after giving everyone a couple of minutes to process the news. "It is with great pleasure and pride that my next order of business is the announcement of the promotion of Major Samantha Carter to Lieutenant Colonel. Major, step forward."

When a dumbfounded Sam was gently pushed forward by Jack, the whole gate room erupted into applause – and out of a corner a couple of wolf-whistles could be heard. As Sam - followed by Jack who was probably spotting the biggest grin possible – finally reached the top of the ramp, everyone in the room came to attention. And while the General and the Colonel pinned the new insignia to her uniform, Major Davis was reading the commendation. Once Sam re-affirmed her oath of enlistment, both she and Jack stepped back into line.

"I know you are eager to celebrate the newest promotion – and yes, there will be cake in the commissary for everyone, a little 'Thank you' from the President I might add – I have another announcement to make," General Hammond started once again. "As of today, the new Department of Research and Development, short R&D, will be implemented within the SGC. Anything research-related will be coordinated through this department, which is supposed to simplify any dealings with new technologies and the like. The heads of the different research divisions will be briefed at 1300 today, so any questions will have to wait until then. As for gate travel, whenever something is to be brought through the gate, appointed members of R&D have to be contacted first and they will coordinate any further action."

Looking at his people once again, he wondered how they'd take his next statement. "Also, as of today, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter is officially leaving SG-1 to become the head of R&D."

Silence. Followed by unbelieving glances towards their front-line team. She was really leaving SG-1?

"However, as head of R&D, Lieutenant Colonel Carter will have to frequently go off-world, and I am sure you are all pleased to know that Colonel O'Neill offered his team as escort on those occasions," the General concluded smiling.

One could clearly hear the sighs of relief throughout the room. It also made clear - just like Jack had predicted – that although Sam had officially left SG-1, within the SGC she was still considered to be a member of this team. Also, Hammond could tell when the first of his people realised what that meant – fraternisation rules didn't apply to them anymore! The betting pools were surely getting some new life today...

Looking over at where Jacob and Jake were standing, Hammond saw that they both got the meaning of the new rules – and even more important, they both seemed fine with it. But now wasn't time to think about this, his people were anxiously waiting for their cake after all! So after a view more sentences, he ended their little meeting, sending everyone back to work – or to eat cake.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam's had was spinning from all the congratulations she had received throughout the day. She was quite positive to have shaken every single person's hand on base by the time she was leaving. And then her promotion! She still couldn't believe it! Also, she had no idea how she managed to survive the 1300 briefing, but somehow she did. The only piece missing to complete happiness was Daniel. At least her dad had been there, even though he had to leave before lunch.

Sighing, it was a bit later than she would have liked, she drove to her brother's house, ready to get Caity and head home. Of course, that wasn't going to happen. As soon as she opened the door, her daughter came almost flying towards her.

"Mommy, mommy! Look!" Caity squealed in happiness, hugging her mom tightly.

And look she did. There was a big banner in the living room, a multicoloured, somewhat uneven 'Congratulations!' written across it. Jake, Jocelyn and their kids as well as Jack, Teal'c, Janet and Cassie were standing close by and all of them were grinning at her.

"Uncle Jack said you've been really, _really_ good at work and Uncle George got you pro... something and everyone got cake! But we didn't get some so Uncle Jack and Uncle T brought cake for all of us and we're having a party!" Caity explained excitedly, throwing the confetti she had been hiding in her left fist all over Sam. That was the sign for everyone else to step forward and start a new round of congratulations.

The food turned out to be pizza for everyone, as it was truly an impromptu party and there wasn't much time to prepare anything. Nevertheless, everyone was having fun and Sam was told to just sit back and enjoy. The party was in her honour after all.

Once the pizza was eaten and the twins put to bed – by Sam and Teal'c on their request – Sam was ready to leave. It was almost Caity's bedtime and as much as she loved having her family and friends around her, she really needed some time for herself after everything that had happened today. Like a long, hot bubble-bath – yes, that sounded heavenly right now.

"Hey, watcha smiling about?" Jack asked, sitting down next to her on the couch, thighs barely touching.

"Nothing," Sam replied innocently.

"Ah, the infamous _nothing_," Jack answered, absently fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Yep," Sam replied grinning.

"So-o, watcha smiling about?" Jack asked again.

"Water!" Sam all but breathed, closing her eyes as if the idea alone is heavenly.

"Water?" he asked confused.

"Lots of hot water. Lots of bubbles." Sam clarified, opening her eyes to look at him.

"Oh! Need some company?" Jack suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

"Hm, you think Teal'c ever had a bubble bath?" Sam asked innocently, furrowing her brow as if deep in thought.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed indignantly, before pulling Sam onto his lap with lightning speed, starting to tickle her mercilessly.

Between laughing and breathing, Sam managed a weak "Help!" or two, before Caity came running into the room, joining in the fun. She loved tickle fights after all!

Janet and Jocelyn entered at a more sedate pace, while Cassie and Keenan decided to stay outside for a little bit longer. Lucas was already in his room, showing Teal'c and his dad something he found on the internet.

"Do you think there was something in the pizza? Maybe I should check them over?" Janet finally asked thoughtfully, while grinning mischievously at Jocelyn.

Sam and Jack stopped in mid-motion, looking up to see Janet and Jocelyn laughing at them. Blushing furiously, they tried to disentangle themselves while Caity who wasn't that concerned kept tickling Jack, which was much easier now as his attention was elsewhere. Finally grabbing Caity and efficiently trapping her laughing form under one arm, he stood up and shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"We were just teaching Sam the finer arts of tickle fighting, right Caity?" Jack asked before setting Caity down in front of him.

"Uh huh," Caity answered giggling, before adding, "Uncle Jack is good in tickle fights, but me is better! And I had to help mommy!"

"Hey!"

"Yes, Uncle Jack?" Caity asked sweetly, looking at him with innocent eyes.

"Beaten by a 7-year old," Janet commented dryly, eliciting a snort from both Jocelyn and Sam.

"Anyway, it's time for us to head home," Sam added.

"But mommy!" Caity started to protest.

"No buts, it's close to your bedtime already and we have to get up early, remember?" Sam reasoned.

"Come on, Caity. We'll continue our lecture another time," Jack added.

"Promise?" Caity asked, looking up at him.

"Promise," Jack answered before bending down and kissing her forehead. "No go and get ready."

"Okay," Caity conceded, before she remembered something else, "Mommy? Do you think we'll have tickle fights at camp, too?"

"At camp?" Sam asked confused – and then she remembered. "Oh! I totally forgot! Jocelyn, any chance you remember the dates of Caity's summer camp?"

"Uhm, the letter must be here somewhere. Sorry Sam, with all the moving I completely forgot about it too! Especially as Lucas and Keenan aren't going this year," Jocelyn apologised before searching for the missing letter.

"Does that mean I can't go?" Caity asked, close to tears. Just today, Lucas had told her a couple of stories of last summer and she really wanted to go there and do all the fun stuff herself. Even if her mommy couldn't go with her. But Lucas said there are always lots of other kids and none of them had there mom with them.

"Of course not!" Sam was quick to pick up and reassure her daughter. "It's just that even adults forget important things sometimes."

Jocelyn chose that moment to come back, a surprised look on her face. "Well, that was close, Caity's summer camp is next week."

"See, nothing to worry about," Sam reassured her daughter. "We still have almost a week to get everything ready."

"Really?"

"Really. It's too late today, but how about we look at everything tomorrow? See if we've got everything you'll need?"

"'Kay."

"Good. Now go and say goodbye to everyone, okay?"

"Yep!" Caity replied, running off in search for the missing members of the family.

Once she was finished and Sam had gathered Caity's things, they left for home – though not without the repeated promise of another lecture in tickle fighting before camp started. Of course, Sam only agreed to it to please Caity. Well, she'd do almost everything for her daughter, even if it meant to spent more time with Jack...

_

* * *

A/N: Wow, I actually managed to put all the things into this chapter that I wanted to! Must be a first or something. LOL. Next chapter, someone from the SGC is finding out about Caity – and the rest shouldn't be too far behind!_

_Once again, I want to thank all those who reviewed so far – and give a special thanks to those who do so frequently! It really means a lot and helps Muse along!_


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Sam felt like she was in heaven. Just as she had promised herself - now that Caity was in bed - she was having a long, hot, relaxing bubble bath.

That is until the phone started to ring. As she had brought the cordless extension to the bathroom, she decided to better get it over with before her daughter was awoken by the ringing.

"Carter."

"Uhm ... it's Mark," her brother answered hesitantly.

"Oh!" Sam exclaimed surprised. Mark was the last person she had expected to call, especially after the fall-out they had when she had called him last.

After she and Caity came back from Jack's cabin, Jake had spent quite some time trying to convince her to call Mark and tell him about both Caity and David. He had every right to know about them after all. Unfortunately, Sam had only gotten as far as telling Mark that she had a 7-year old daughter who had lived with friends until now. At that point, Mark had interrupted her, asking if Jake knew all along. After she admitted that yes, Jake knew about Caity since her birth, Mark had simply disconnected the call and wouldn't take any calls from her. Or from Jake. So Sam had written a long letter, explaining everything from start to end. Unfortunately, this letter came back, unopened. Not one to easily give up, Sam wrote another letter to Mark's wife, asking her to keep the enclosed letter for Mark until she thought he might be willing to read it. At least, this letter hadn't come back. Yet.

Having all those thoughts running through her head in just one second caused it to start spinning again. So, subconsciously, Sam sat up straighter and asked the first thing that came to her mind. "Hi Mark. Are you and your family okay? Did anything happen?" Because that _was_ the only reason she could imagine him to call.

"No, no! Nothing happened, everyone is fine. Thanks." Mark was quick to reply before taking an audible deep breath, continuing rather sheepishly, "Dad called yesterday."

"Oh!" She hadn't know that.

"Yeah, well. Congrats on your promotion," Mark replied.

"Thanks." Sam replied cautiously, not really knowing what to make out of Mark's call.

"Yeah, well. By the way, you were right, dad changed a lot in the last view years," Mark started awkwardly.

Guessing that this wasn't all Mark wanted to say, Sam decided to give him a few minutes to make up his mind. She was just about to say something, when he finally continued.

"He got me to read your letter... " Mark trailed off.

"Oh." What else could she say?

"Yeah, he actually stayed on the phone the whole time," Mark continued, sounding exactly like someone who doesn't know what to say.

Once again giving him time to gather his thoughts, Sam waited, nervously playing with a strand of her hair. When she became aware of what she was doing, she let the memories of Caity's chewing gum accident play before her eyes. Luckily, that one was quite a while ago, giving her hair the opportunity do what it does best - grow. She was still reliving the fond memory when Mark continued in a low voice, obviously shaken.

"I'm sorry. Your letter ... I just don't know what to say."

"I just... I just couldn't tell you. Please, don't be mad at Jake, I made him promise not to tell anyone." Sam almost pleaded.

"I won't. He has always been very protective of you, and truth be told, I'm glad he was there, looking out for you all the time. Honestly." Mark replied seriously, his voice devoid of the jealousy it had held when Sam had first tried to tell him about her kids.

"Thanks," Sam replied, finally releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"So... how are you holding up?" Mark asked cautiously.

"I don't know, really," Sam started, laughing out loud humourlessly. "I guess there are both good days and bad days. Though having Caity with me is helping a lot, and so are Jake and his family, and my friends. Well, and I've been talking a lot with someone who lost his son too. He's been a great help, you know."

"That... that's good. I ... damn, I just don't know what to say!" Mark replied clearly frustrated, before finishing quietly, "I don't know how to help."

"You called," Sam answered just as quietly, "I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"Thanks. Still, I shouldn't have hung up on you in the first place."

"There're a lot of things we shouldn't have done. But that was in the past. Just let's forget about it, okay? Right now I'm just glad you called." Sam replied seriously.

"Me too." Mark answered just as serious. "So, how is that little niece of mine?" he added more cheerfully.

"Sleeping. Hopefully," Sam replied smiling. "Anyway, according to Jake – and dad, really – she's a lot like me when I was her age. Of course, I was never _that_ curious or mischievous or anything. Honestly."

"Yeah, sure," Mark replied, snorting.

"Hey! I wasn't that bad!" Sam exclaimed jokingly.

"Sure," Mark answered grinning. "Anyway, we are coming down to Denver for Karen's little sister's wedding in 4 weeks. We both have a week off work, so if you don't mind we'd like to come to visit you too... You know, as we are in the area anyway and all that."

"I'd really love that. And I'm sure Jake would like to see you too." Sam said pointedly.

"Yeah. Karen mentioned something like that as well," Mark admitted grudgingly.

"See, she knows what's best for you. She's your wife after all!" Sam replied smiling.

"Very funny," Mark growled.

"Yep, that's what I thought," Sam answered mischievously.

"Okay, okay! I'll call Jake in the next couple of days and we'll talk about it. Happy?"

"Yep. And don't forget to mention that you've been a good boy to Karen. I'm sure she'll be very pleased with you," Sam replied laughing.

"Oh shut up!" he replied, though he was laughing as well. "I'll get back to you with the exact dates. But if you need anything before that, just call, okay?"

"I will, thanks. Now go, Karen is waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah. Call you later," Mark answered resigned.

"And I'm looking forward to it."

Smiling, Sam put the phone down. And although the water had cooled down considerably during the call, she was feeling much happier than she had before.

xoxoxoxoxo

The next few days simply flew by. Sam was busy getting some working order into the new R&D department, trying to accommodate everyone's wishes. Of course, that proved impossible so she spent a lot of time finding compromises, but by Friday everyone was happy. For the moment anyway.

There were only two drawbacks. Daniel was still with the Asgard and no one knew when he'd be back – or in what condition. And Jack had to go to P3X-107 - a planet he, Daniel and Teal'c made first contact with a few weeks ago - to work on a mining treaty. Of course, that wasn't something he'd usually do, especially without SG-1, but the locals had requested his presence and wouldn't agree to anything without him. But this also meant he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to bring Caity to camp, something the girl had asked him to do and was really looking forward to.

She was still trying to think of the best way to tell her daughter these latest news, when Jack came walking into her lab. In his civvies.

"Sir? Aren't you supposed to leave in ... 5 minutes?" Sam asked surprised.

"Yeah, well. But I had something important to do first," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders. "The General gave me the time I needed to sort this out."

"You left the base," Sam stated matter of fact.

"Yep." Jack replied, fiddling with a pen he had taken from Sam's work bench.

"So, what did you-" Sam started before she realised what he'd done. "You went to see Caity!" She continued surprised, a small smile starting to play across her face.

"Yeah, well. _I'm_ the one who can't keep his promise and the least I could do was to explain it to her myself, you know," Jack said, shrugging his shoulders once again, not being able to look at her.

"Hey, it's not your fault!" Sam emphasised, realising he was blaming himself for breaking his promise to Caity. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"Maybe. Though you haven't seen the disappointment in her eyes when I told her," Jack stated quietly. "She just turned around and went back into the backyard."

Whatever Sam was going to reply – and truth be told, she hadn't found the right words yet - was interrupted by her ringing cell phone. Sighing, she picked it up without looking at the caller id. However, the more she listened the more her smile started to grow. Finally, she simply handed it over to Jack.

"It's for you, sir," she whispered.

Though looking confused, he nevertheless took the phone from her.

"O'Neill," he greeted in a neutral voice.

Sam watched him raising his eyebrows in surprise when he learned who was on the other side, causing her to smile once again.

"Caity?"

She had a pretty good idea what her daughter was telling Jack – the ever growing smile on his face was a dead give-away. Not to mention his next reply.

"I love you too, sweety."

Wow. _That_ she hadn't heard before. Of course, she kind of suspected that Jack kinda loved her daughter, yet she'd never actually hear him admit it. Not in front of her anyway.

"Okay, I will. Now, you'll be good for your mommy – _and_ for the people at camp. After all, we don't want your mommy to have to worry about you, right?"

Rolling her eyes at the conspiratorial tone Jack was using – and judging by Jack's expression, Caity had replied something that would suggest her rolling her eyes too – Sam's smile broadened even more. She might only hear Jack's side of the conversation, but instead of hiding his feelings behind an indifferent mask, his feelings showed clearly across his face, allowing her a pretty good guess of what Caity was talking about.

"Me too. Don't forget to have fun, okay? See you when you're back from camp."

Realising the call would be over soon, Sam – smile still in place – quickly bent over her workbench, fiddling with the latest alien device on it. She didn't want to be caught staring at her CO - or former CO anyway – and listening into his private conversations. Even if the latter one was with her daughter.

"I will. Bye!"

Hearing him coming over to her workbench, she put the doohickey she wasn't really studying down and looked up at him – and straight into his, with happiness brightly shining, chocolate-brown eyes. Woah! Feeling her knees almost giving in and her stomach doing something funny too – she must have gotten up too fast or so – she sat back down, though her eyes were never leaving his.

"Everything settled?" Sam managed to say.

"Yeah," Jack replied, simply staring back at her.

"Great," Sam whispered as there faces seemed to drift closer and closer together.

Until the phone in her lab rang.

Repeatedly.

"Uhm... I guess I better answer it," Sam said finally, being the first to break the eye contact.

"Yeah," Jack started, then he cleared his throat before continuing, "Well, I should get changed then."

"Yeah," Sam replied nodding, moving to answer the phone – though not before she let out a deep sigh, muttering, "I just hope it isn't Felger."

"Carter. ... Dr. Felger, what can I do for you now?" Sam replied, letting out another deep sigh, rolling her eyes at Jack who was still standing in the doorway.

Chuckling, he mouthed 'See you later!' before leaving her to deal with whatever Felger wanted this time.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Are we there yet?" an over-excited Caity asked once again, bouncing up and down in her safety seat as much as the seatbelt would allow her to.

"Nope," Jake, who was driving, replied cheerfully. He could still remember the first time his sons went to camp and they had been just as excited as Caity was now. Sam, on the contrary, was pretty nervous, and this was something he could relate to too.

"Why not?" Caity asked slightly disappointed. She wanted to get there and do all the fun stuff Keenan and Lucas had told her about! "See? There're mountains everywhere!" she whined. After all, Keenan told her the camp was in the mountains and they've been driving through them for like forever already!

"Patience, my young padawan," Jake said solemnly, causing Sam to giggle. Thanks to Teal'c, she had watched Star Wars often enough to recall that quote.

"Huh? What's a ... pada- padadan?" Caity asked curiously, the camp forgotten for the moment.

"Padawan," Sam corrected smiling. "I think Uncle Teal'c will be more than happy to answer that question."

"Really?" Caity asked excitedly.

"Yep. He's an expert on padawans," Sam replied grinning.

"Sweet!" Caity exclaimed happily, only to continue less than a minute later, "Are we there, now?"

"Almost," Jake replied, laughing out loud.

True to his word, only a couple of minutes later they turned off the main road, following the sign towards 'Camp Millcreek'. Only a few minutes after that they pulled into the camp's parking area, that was already busy with several parents, ready – or not – to drop their kids off for the week. As soon as she got out of the car, Sam started to look around.

The camp was located in a big clearing, with the main building right next to the parking lot. A couple of stairs were leading up to a rail porch that was running along the building and she could see several kids and their parents walking on the porch towards one of the doors leading into the building. Looking past the main building, Sam made out what looked like quite a large body of water in the distance that was reflecting the sunlight brightly. Assuming that it was the lake mentioned in the brochure, Sam turned slightly and looked up a small hill with several small cabins arranged semi-randomly on it. She could also, even if only barely, make out a coral and quite a big playing field in the proximity of the main clearing.

"Hey Sam, why don't you take a short look around while Caity and I get all her stuff together? We can meet you on the porch once you're finished," Jake suggested, understanding his sister's need to take a closer look, especially now that he knew what she really did for a living.

"You sure?" Sam asked, though she really wanted to take a closer look around. After all, she was going to leave her daughter at this place and she wanted to make sure she'd be safe.

"Yep. Now go!" Jake replied smiling.

In the meantime, Caity had scrambled out of her car seat – something she insisted she could do on her own, she was a big girl after all – and was looking around with big eyes.

"Where's mommy going?" she asked her uncle uncertainly, having missed the conversation between him and her mom.

"Well, you know she can't stay, so she wanted to have a look and make sure you'll like it here," Jake explained after picking her up to sit her on the hood.

"Oh! Okay," Caity replied.

"That sounds exactly like something my husband would do – and actually did," a woman, who was just walking by, commented smiling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in or interrupt you or anything, but I accidentally overheard your last comment and it reminded me of the first time one of our kids came here. As soon as we arrived, my husband – he's in the Air Force – went to have a closer look at the place." she added grinning.

"It's alright, don't worry," Jake replied smiling, taking a closer look at the woman. Jake guessed her to be in her late thirties and she was holding the hand of a girl in Caity's age, yet didn't seem to have any luggage with her. "So, I suppose it isn't the first time you are here?"

"Nope, but it's the first time for our daughter, Tammie," she added, pointing at the blond girl standing next to her.

"Oh! Me wasn't here before too!" Caity said excitedly, jumping from the hood and taking a step towards the other girl. "Hi! I'm Caity," she added, holding out her hand towards the other girl.

"Hi," Tammie replied quietly, shaking the offered hand.

"There you are!" a male voice said from behind Jake – and if Jake was honest, it sounded somewhat familiar.

"Daddy!" Tammie exclaimed happily. "Look! That's Caity and she's new too!"

"That's great! Hi Caity," Tammie's dad replied, smiling warmly at Caity who grinned back at him, waving slightly. Putting the bag he's was carrying down, he stood up to his full height again and turned slightly to greet Caity's parents.

"Dr. Pullman!" he exclaimed surprised when he saw Jake standing there.

"Colonel Dixon?" Jake said at the same time.

"Well, it looks like you already know each other," Dave Dixon's wife stated humorously.

"Yeah. Uhm, sorry. Ellen Dixon, my wife and Dr. Jake Pullman, we're working at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex together," said Dave Dixon, still amazed at his latest discovery. Taking a closer look at Caity though, he had to admit that there was quite a resemblance between him and his daughter.

"Do you really work with Uncle Jake?" Caity asked curiously, looking up at her new friend's dad expectantly.

"Uncle Jake?" Dave Dixon asked surprised, looking between Caity and Dr. Pullman.

"Yep, Caity's my little sister's daughter," Jake explained, finding the Colonel's obvious confusion quite amusing and was looking forward to him finding out just _who_ his little sister was. "And you are right, we are working together," Jake added, looking back at Caity.

"Sweet! Don't you think, Tammie?" Caity asked, then realising something else, she added excitedly, "Do you know Uncle Jack too?"

Dave Dixon could only nod in astonishment before Caity continued happily, "Look, he gave me this cap and it's just like his lucky cap! Isn't that cool? Oh, and do you know Auntie Janet and Uncle Daniel and Uncle Teal'c and Uncle George? Cause they all work with Uncle Jake. And mommy too!"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing – how the hell did this kid know all of the big players at the SGC? Whoa! Wait! Mommy too? Who the hell was-

"Jake? Everything okay?" an all too familiar voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

- her mommy?

"Carter?" Dave asked incredulously, turning around to face her approaching figure.

"Colonel Dixon, sir? What are you doing here?" Sam replied just as astounded, after making sure Caity was alright.

"My daughter Tammie is starting camp today," he answered more out of reflex than anything else, still looking dumbfounded between Sam and her daughter.

"Let me guess, she's working with you, too?" Ellen asked amused, enjoying to see her husband completely stunned for once.

"Ellen Dixon, Colonel Dixon's wife and Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, my little sister," Jake answered just as amused, chuckling at the sight of the two dumbfounded Air Force officers in front of him.

"Whoa! Little sister?" Dave asked, looking between Jake and Sam. He _so_ didn't see that one coming! In fact, most of the people at the SGC seemed to be unaware of that fact! Although, now that he knew of their relationship he could see quite a resemblance between Jake and General Carter.

"Yep."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"Seems like your family is trying to change the base into a family business," Dave finally stated chuckling, starting to see the humour in the situation. Especially when he thought of certain betting pools running at the SGC. Well, it looked like he'd finally have to join into some of the pools then!

"I hate to break up the family reunion and all, but I think we better get the kids inside," Ellen said, bringing everyone's focus back on why they were here in the first place.

"Right." Sam and Dave replied simultaneously, before Dave bent down to pick up Tammie's bag and started walking towards the main building.

Meanwhile Jake had gotten Caity's bag out of the trunk and was walking next to Sam, both watching Caity and Tammie skipping along the path in front of them, talking animatedly.

When they entered the room everyone else went into, they were greeted by the camp director, who introduced himself as Gary Hines. He seemed to be a warm and kind person and offered to answer any questions they might have. After all, he was doing this job for a long time already and could easily spot any anxious parents who would want to hear some extra reassurances from him. So he wasn't surprised at all to see the tall blond woman, who he had already spotted taking a closer look at the camp area, walking towards him a couple of minutes later. But given his experience, he managed to reassure her just like he had several other parents today.

Once Sam had spoken to Gary Hines, she went back to her daughter who was already talking animatedly with several other girls from her cabin, Romania. She'd also spoken to the three counselors for said cabin and was finally convinced that her daughter would be safe for the week. And if she was going to believe Gary Hines, in his experience the counselors were more at risk of getting hurt than the kids anyway.

It turned to be much harder for Sam to leave Caity than for Caity to see her mommy go. She'd already made a couple of new friends and also seemed to get along with her counselors and was really looking forward to all the fun stuff her cousins had told her about. So after hugging her daughter goodbye, Jake had to almost literally drag Sam out the building and to the car.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Jake tried to reassure her on the way out.

"Yeah, if she's anything like her mom, then she's going to have the time of her life," Dave Dixon, who had been waiting outside the building, added smiling.

"Thanks," Sam answered, being grateful for their reassurances.

"Soo ... any reason why most people don't know about the whole brother-sister deal?" Dave couldn't stop himself to ask.

"What, and take all the fun out of seeing them finding out?" Jake replied before he added laughing, "By the way, you should have seen your face, it was truly priceless!"

"Yeah, I guess," Dave finally agreed, smiling as well. "So I suppose I have to wait and see? Just promise I can be there when it's finally revealed?"

"That I can do," Jake replied grinning.

"Great. So, see you tomorrow," Dave answered before leaving to join his wife in their car.

"You okay?" Jake asked his sister, once Dave had left.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied. "Honestly."

"Good. Because Dave is right, Caity's going to have the time of her life," Jake said honestly.

"I know, I know. Nevertheless, it's going to be a long week." Sam replied, sighing deeply.

"Well, if you really want to, I'm sure I can ask Felger to keep you busy or something..." Jake suggested playfully, earning himself a death glare.

Little did they know that by the next weekend, Sam would have given anything to be stuck with Felger that entire week...

_

* * *

A/N: Any idea when the hair-incident took place? LOL. So far, Mark was only lurking somewhere at the back of my mind, but after reading a certain review for the last chapter, Muse got an idea on how to integrate him and she insisted on adding that part. _

_If Camp Millcreek sounded familiar to anyone, then yes, I borrowed it from the Campers!-AU from **Neuropsych**, so anything camp-related – including Gary Hines - belongs to her. In the unlikely event of you not being familiar with that particular AU, you better go and start reading, because it's an incredible series :) and it gives you an idea how Muse imagines Caity's stay at camp! _


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The first night without Caity after the last couple of month was strange. Yet, Sam tried to make the best out of it. She had declined an offer to have dinner at Jake's house, instead deciding to work on her recently largely neglected bike. By the time she couldn't ignore her growling stomach anymore, it was close to midnight and after eating a sandwich Sam went to bed.

Monday went without a hitch, even the other scientists seemed to be happy with the new arrangements. At least for the moment. The only slightly disconcerting thing was Colonel Dixon. Whenever they met – and were alone - he would grin or wink at her, spotting a silly smile. Of course, as soon as someone else came into sight, his expression would be as neutral as an expression could get. When she met Jake for lunch, she learned that she apparently wasn't the only one to receive this special attention. But Jake also helped her to see the funny side of it, so the rest of the day she'd smile or wink back at Colonel Dixon.

By the time she went home – well after 2300 – Sam was too tired to miss her daughter too much. She simply ate the take away she got on the way back and by midnight she was fast asleep.

Until 2 a.m. anyway, when the phone started to ring. But what was even worse, the man, who identified himself as a Dr. Flemming, did not only know about Adrian Conrad but also claimed that the project never was shut down. That didn't bode well, even though she wasn't exactly sure what project he meant. But before she could get more information out of him, she heard the sickening noise of a car crash and the line went dead.

This was just great. As soon as she was alone, someone would call at 2 a.m., asking for help. Go figure. And as if this wasn't enough, the whole mess was somehow connected to Adrian Conrad, a name that didn't sit well with her. At all. Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes for another couple of minutes, before calling General Hammond.

By 7 a.m., she, General Hammond, Teal'c and Janet were sitting in the briefing room, discussing last night. It turned out that Dr. Flemming was a biologist with a main interest in advanced genetics who had worked for a company connected to Adrian Conrad. As if this wasn't suspicious enough, he went missing just after the call to Sam, leaving his crashed car behind.

Never one to take any chances, General Hammond ordered Sam and Teal'c to take a closer look at Immunitech, the company Dr. Flemming had been working for, in Steveston, Oregon. And as neither Colonel O'Neill nor Dr. Jackson were available, he also sent Lt. Hailey with them, as she had worked with SG1 - and especial Sam – before and he thought it was a good chance for her to get some more experience.

xoxoxoxoxo

The investigation went off slowly Tuesday afternoon and all Wednesday. The Sheriff of Steveston was kind of helpful, but didn't have much to say in the end. After learning that Dr. Flemming's lab conveniently burnt down last night, the only thing they could do was to take a closer look at his house. Of course, after burning any evidence in Flemming's lab, Sam wasn't exactly surprised to find the house thoroughly cleaned of any evidence. Until the package – sent by Dr. Flemming to himself – with a filled syringe inside, arrived.

Thursday, finally, promised to become much more interesting. Especially after they broke into the old shipyard to find the partially constructed alien spaceship. Well, what better place to built a space_ship_ than a _ship_yard anyway? After overcoming the initial shock of their discovery, they procured as much information as possible in form of data-CDs before going back to the motel. And a phone conversation with General Hammond later, Teal'c and Hailey went to observe the shipyard while Sam tried to decode the information on the CDs.

An hour later, scanning through the already decoded pages on her laptop, she couldn't help but gasp when she realised what the scientist at Immunitec had been working on. They had actually cloned Adrian Conrad's symbiote! She couldn't believe it – and not only because it brought back rather bad memories. But she didn't make it to Lt. Colonel because of her looks, so she pushed her shock about this news into the back of her mind and contacted Teal'c and Lt. Hailey to inform them of her finds.

Only a few minutes later her heart almost stopped when she saw several cars driving up to her motel room. And knowing that those were Goa'uld didn't help to ease her apprehension at all. Never one to give up easily, Sam went to her bag to retrieve her weapon, waiting for the things to come. Just as they tried to open her door she caught a glimpse of the container with the syringe Dr. Flemming had sent to himself. The syringe, that according to Janet most likely contained some antibiotic-like substance.

Considering the circumstances, chances where pretty high that a more thorough analysis would classify the liquid as anti-symbiotic. Or so Sam hoped anyway. So, grasping at straws, Sam quickly put her gun down and injected herself with the liquid. Feeling slightly dizzy after the last of the liquid entered her system, Sam let the syringe fall to steady herself while trying to get a hold on her weapon once again.

Of course, the door to her room decided to give in just then and she didn't even have the time to shoot once before she felt the all too familiar and painful tingling that accompanies being shot by a zat.

When she came around again, she found herself in the Sheriff's office, bound to a chair. Looking around, she got a very _very_ bad feeling about this. Still, she was a soldier who wouldn't give them the satisfaction of showing her fear. Never. Instead, she went on the offensive.

"Did I miss something?" she asked flippantly. Hm, maybe the Colonel finally rubbed off on her?

Her comment was met by silence. Then the Sheriff started to move towards her and Sam couldn't help but add wistfully, "Damn, I hope I didn't miss the 'I am your God!' – speech. You know, over the years, I've grown to kinda like them."

Apparently they didn't appreciate her talking, because the next thing she knew was the Sheriff getting a tight hold of her head, pressing some sort of anaesthetic soaked cloth over her nose and mouth. Even though she tried to get away as soon as she felt the Sheriff touch her head, she was fighting a loosing battle – and she knew it and soon felt no more.

Sam felt herself being pulled into consciousness rather abrupt. Therefore, it took her a couple of seconds to recognize what was wrong with this. She could still see, taste, smell and feel – but she had no control over her body. None at all. Also, there was a searing pain in her neck, though it seemed to slightly ease by the minute. And she knew all to well what had happened. Again. Well, there was still the possibility of the unknown liquid in the syringe to act against the symbiote. But even if this failed, she wasn't going to give in without a fight.

_"Foolish Tauri!"_ the symbiote responded to her last thought, laughing maliciously in her head. _"I am your god! You will do as I wish!"_

_"Only in your dreams!"_

_"You are nothing but weak, slave. You cannot win against your god!"_

_"Whatever. I'm not only talking about winning, I'm talking about killing you. You're nothing but a pathetic parasite!" _Sam replied angrily.

_"Now that is interesting..."_

_"What, did you solve the equation I've been working on lately?" _Sam asked sarcastically. _"Because _that_ would make you useful for once!"_

_"You have served as host before," _the snake replied interested

_"Yet I am the one still alive," _Sam said sweetly.

_"Silence!"_

_"Or what? Torture me? Been there, done that, got the t-shirt." _Sam replied, before adding mockingly_. "And yet I managed to kill your kind!"_

_"I said SILENCE!" _

_"Sure, get the hell out of me and l might just leave you alone! Maybe." _Sam answered angrily

This time the snake didn't reply but activated a whole bunch of pain receptors in Sam's brain. Would she have been in control of her bodily functions, she'd probably have screamed in agonizing pain, but as it was right now, she could only scream in her mind. Yet, she was more determined than ever to win this fight, to make sure the snake inside her would die.

_"What, too stupid to think of a reply already?" _Sam whispered once the pain started to decrease slightly – only to get another dose of it. But this time it stopped as soon as it started and she could feel the snake almost shake with anger.

_"Shol'va! You have been host to a Tok'ra, I should kill you for your insolence!"_

_"Sure, go ahead," _Sam answered nonchalantly_. "Of course, it would kill you too and I'd win once again!"_

Once the next wave of pain had subsided, Sam started again, knowing it'd probably only cause her more pain. But she had to win time, given the – hopefully – snake-antidote time to work and prevent the snake to realise what was happening, which would give it the opportunity to warn his fellow snakes. This was the only thing to keep her going.

_"What, is that all you can do?"_ Sam mocked it again, bracing herself for the pain she was sure was coming. Only that it didn't. Instead, the snake replied menacingly, _"Well, well. Looks like I found a nice pastime for the future."_

_"What? Reading my hidden stash of romantic novels?" _

_"I think your offspring will make a great host ... or should I wait till she is all grown up? What do you think?" _the snake asked menacingly.

_"Don't you dare mention her again!" _Sam screamed furiously. Oh if she'd only be able to kill with pure willpower, the snake inside her would have died a very painful death right now. She even felt the snake hesitate as if it feared Sam's willpower. Unfortunately, this lasted only a few seconds.

_"Who? Caity? No, Caitlin Hope. Such a pathetic name. I shall find a more suitable name for my future queen!"_ the snake answered. And before Sam could reply, it continued tauntingly, _"Aww! Another of your offspring died, no, was killed by his own father. Now, to show you how much I appreciate your willingness of becoming my host, I shall make sure you will never forget him."_

As soon as he finished his statement, laughing coldly, the snake triggered Sam's memory of David's last days with her before killing him over and over again. Being the Goa'uld that it was, taking great pleasure in torturing on every possibility, the snake found lots of ways to kill David off, one way being worse then the other. Now and then it also included Caity into its mind game. And all Sam could do was 'sitting there' and watch. True, she tried to block it out and think of all the happy times she had with both her kids, but she was slowly loosing her mind. Literally.

Finally she felt the snake loosening his grip on her, slowly slipping away. Then she could feel its terror when it discovered what was happening, that it was dying and she'd have cheered on the fact if she wouldn't have been that utterly exhausted. Mentally exhausted. But deep down she knew she couldn't loose it now, so she took every willpower she had left to slip back into soldier mode. At least for a while she had to play along, making sure that none of the snakes would escape. That none of the snakes would be able to ever hurt her daughter.

And that's exactly what she did. For the next couple of hours she was a Goa'uld – ironically enough, she _was_ functioning more on autopilot than on anything else. She let an NID agent get snaked without her interference, exposed Teal'c as Jaffa and shol'va and even slapped Hailey when she became too inquisitive and finally zatted both of them.

By the time the cavalry in form of the NID arrived, all she wanted to do was curl into a - preferably - dark corner, holding tightly onto Caity and forget everything and everyone around her. Of course, this wasn't going to happen, so she played along and helped with setting up a quarantine for the town, waited till the people from the SGC arrived and finally went back there with Teal'c and Lt. Hailey in tow. By the time they finally arrived, it was well after lunchtime – with an extensive medical examination still ahead of them, not to mention the briefing afterwards.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Janet, I'm fine, really! So would you _please_ stop asking the same question over and over again?" Sam stated for the hundredth time, or so it seemed to her.

"Sam, you had a symbiote connected to your brainstem, again. It might have only been for a few minutes, at least so you say, but it was still connected to you, trapping you in your own body! I just don't want a repeat of what happened last time!" Janet tried to reason.

"Last time, it wasn't a Goa'uld but a Tok'ra. Last time, it wasn't for only – yes, _only_ – a couple of minutes but days. Last time, the symbiote wasn't killed by drugs but died of its own will to save me. So don't tell me its anything like last time!" Sam replied, getting louder with each last time.

Janet was about to answer when she saw both Colonel O'Neill, who'd come back from his mission the day before, and Jake through the small gap of the curtains around Sam's bed. Sighing deeply, she said, "Okay, I won't ask you again. However, I want you to stay right where you are until _all_ of the test results come back."

"But-" Sam started.

"No buts. It shouldn't take longer than 2 or 3 h and when everything comes back clear you are free to go. You haven't slept last night, so why don't you take a nap?" Janet added quickly.

"I'm not tired," Sam replied stubbornly.

"Sure," Janet replied smiling slightly, glad to finally get a somewhat 'normal' reaction from Sam. "See you later," she added, patting Sam's leg lightly before leaving her alone.

As soon as she stepped out Sam's private little cubicle, she smiled slightly at both men looking questioningly at her, before motioning for Jake to go ahead.

"Wait," Janet said when Jack was about to follow. "Let's talk in my office."

Jack was torn between going to see Sam – he already had spoken to Teal'c and knew what happened, more or less anyway, but hadn't been able to see Sam yet – and following the Doc's request. But hearing the seriousness in her voice and knowing Jake would take good care of Sam he decided to listen to the Doc. For now.

"So, what's up?" he asked flippantly while closing the door behind him.

"I'm worried about Sam," Janet stated, coming straight to the point.

"Physically?" Jack asked almost hopefully. "Or not," he added, after seeing the concerned look Janet was giving him.

Sighing deeply, Janet started, "She keeps saying she's fine – which itself is nothing unusual with the lot of you – but I've got the feeling she isn't really herself,"

Seeing the alarmed look Jack was giving her, Janet chuckled slightly and continued, "Okay, bad choice of words-"

"_Very_ bad," Jack all but growled, causing Janet to chuckle once again.

"Okay, _very_ bad choice of words. What I mean is that she might be sitting there and talking and all, but she isn't _really_ there. You know what I mean?" Janet asked hopefully.

"You mean she's playing the tough soldier while hiding her true feelings from everyone, even herself?" Jack answered thoughtfully.

"Yeah, something like that," Janet agreed.

"The snake." It wasn't a question but a statement.

"That's what I think. Sam keeps telling me it only was in control for a couple of minutes but I think it was closer to half an hour, maybe even an whole hour."

"What makes you think that?" Jack asked quietly, anger against the snake boiling deep inside. God knows what that little bastard could have done to her in an hour!

"The preliminary results we got from treating the towns people. Dr. Flemming apparently managed to hide another stash of the vaccine-like substance which we found and used on the infected NID agents. Response times were different, but it took at least an hour before the Goa'uld started to loose control. Now Sam already had the vaccine in her system when she was implanted with the snake, so that should have sped up the effect of the vaccine. But I don't think it took less than half an hour for her to overcome the Goa'uld."

"Shit," Jack stated matter of fact. Doc was usually right with that sort of thing and this didn't sound good at all.

"That about sums it up. Right now I think she's trying to lock everything somewhere deep in her mind and throw the key away while trying to act normal. I'm sure she'd fool people who aren't close to her, but I'm not buying her I'm-fine-act."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Jack asked curiously, because he knew Janet wouldn't have told him all that if she hadn't already thought of some sort of action.

"Well, once her last results come back clean, which I'm sure they will, I'll release her with orders to stay away from the SGC until Monday."

"And..." Jack probed.

"And I expect someone to be with her at all time," Janet continued almost in lecture-mode.

"But you are not telling her this," Jack added knowingly.

"Looks like we understand each other just fine," Janet finished grinning, knowing that Sam would get just the help she needed.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Jake stepped into Sam's cubicle, closing the curtain after him. Taking in his sister sitting in a defensive posture on the bed, he knew something was wrong immediately, even though she obviously tried to hide it.

"Hey," he started. Knowing exactly how a 'How are you?' would be received – judging by her reaction to Janet anyway – he simply added grinning, "Come on, scoot over! I'm not getting any younger standing around like this."

Being way too tired to object, Sam sighed deeply and moved to make room for her brother. And as long as he wasn't going to ask questions, she would comply to about anything he wanted from her.

"So, I take it you are not in the mood to talk?" Jake asked cautiously, looking at his sister who was nervously playing with the blanket in her lap.

"Not really," she answered honestly.

"That's okay. How about we just sit here, waiting for Janet?"

"Really?" Sam replied, looking at her brother in surprise. She'd assumed he was going to push her just like Janet had, but apparently he wasn't. At least at the moment.

"Really," Jake replied seriously, stilling her hands by covering them with his. "Just remember I'm here whenever you _do_ want to talk, okay?"

"'Kay," she replied thankfully, smiling slightly when Jake bent over to kiss her on the temple.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to take a nap," Jake finally said lightly, scooting even closer to Sam, putting his arm around her shoulder and getting comfortable.

Sam stiffened at first at the contact, but then, resting her head on Jake's shoulder, allowed herself to relax for the first time since last night. She even managed to chuckle quietly, stating, "Looks like your age is catching up with you, huh?"

"Hey! Watch you mouth, little sis!" Jake replied playfully. "Don't you know that you are supposed to respect your elder?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam answered, rolling her eyes at her brother even though he couldn't see it. "Now shut up, I wanna take a nap!"

Chuckling, Jake squeezed his sister once again, kissing the top of her head before sighing in contentment, closing his eyes. After all, now that he was comfortable and all, holding his sister safe in his arms, he could just as well take the nap he was talking about previously.

"Thanks," Sam whispered after a while, squeezing Jake's hand that still covered hers in her lap.

"Shh, I'm sleeping," Jake scolded, causing his sister to giggle – now that was a sound he truly loved! And with that thought he let himself drift off to sleep, soon to be followed by his sister.

As soon as Jack finished his talk with Janet he went to check on Sam – and couldn't help but smile at the picture in front of him, wishing for a camera just this once. Not wanting to disturb either of the siblings, he left Sam's cubicle after a few minutes just as quietly as he had entered it.

Roughly an hour later, nurse Jenkins decided to check on Lt. Colonel Carter as she hadn't heard anything from behind the curtain around her bed for quite some time. But she never expected to find what she did. Lt. Colonel Carter was curled up against Dr. Pullman, his arm securely around her waist – and both were fast asleep. It took her a full minute to realise she was staring at them - with her mouth wide open at that. But then she started to grin, deciding that Lt. Colonel Carter was indeed safe and the curtain better stayed were they were. _And_ that she'd better go and change her bet in the most popular betting pool around the SGC.

_

* * *

A/N: hides in an unknown place ... Sorry for the long wait, but somehow RL keeps interfering with my writing. That won't change too soon, I'm afraid, but I'm writing the next chapter already (it's mainly the second part of this one as Muse decided to go overboard with ideas... also, if I start writing a chapter I can't stop until I'm finished) – and it has lots Sam and Jack interaction. BTW, season 6's 'Nightwalkers' wasn't exactly a great episode (IMO anyways) but gave me the background I needed - I simply adjusted a few facts to my AU. _

_Thanks for your patience – and your reviews!_


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Despite it only being 1800 and her nap earlier – which did her more good then she'd admit to anyone – Sam was both physically and mentally exhausted by the time she arrived home that Friday night. The debriefing had been thankfully short, though there would be another, more detailed one on Monday, when there'd be more information on the incident in Stevenson available. But for now, Sam was free and not expected back on base until Monday – something she didn't intend to do anyway.

Her body screamed for her to go to bed, but Sam didn't have time for that. Instead, she went to take a long, hot shower. When she finally felt clean again, she turned the hot water off, but stayed under the now cold water to help her wake up a bit. Once finished, she dressed in jeans and T-shirt, but also put on a light sweater as she didn't seem to get warm again, despite the warm evening air. After putting some change of clothes in a small bag, she left her bedroom and without even glancing at the rest of her house left it again – only to run straight into Jack.

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed while trying to steady both of them. "Slow down a bit, Carter!"

"Sorry, sir," Sam mumbled in reply, before shaking his hands off her, moving towards her car without acknowledging him any further.

Sam put her bag into the back, sat behind the steering wheel and started to back out her driveway – only to find Jack's car blocking the exit. Frustrated, she hit the steering wheel with both of her hands repeatedly before stopping and resting her head atop of it, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Watching Sam carefully, Jack finally went to slowly open her door, touching her left shoulder lightly. "Hey, why don't you give me your keys?"

Without lifting her head, Sam got the key from the ignition and handed them over, defeated.

"The other one too," Jack added softly, waiting for Sam to hand the keys to her house over as well. Too defeated to actually question his order, Sam simply handed the requested item over.

Sam expected him to ask her to get out of the car next and was more than surprised when this didn't happen. Finally turning her head to the side, though not lifting it from the steering wheel, she saw him walking back from the direction of her house.

"You forgot to close your front door," Jack stated simply, once he reached her open car door again.

"Oh," Sam replied, more confused than ever.

"How about you're getting out of your car-"

Well, here it comes, Sam thought.

"- and then I'll drive you wherever you wanted to go in the first place?" Jack asked quietly.

"Really?" Sam asked surprised.

"Yep. Now come on," Jack answered reassuringly, holding his hand out for her to take.

Jack took her bag while Sam slowly got out. After locking her car, he put his hand on the small of her back and slowly guided her towards his own car.

"Buckle up," Jack reminded her quietly once they were both seated inside.

"Oh, sorry," Sam mumbled.

"It's okay. Now I take it we're going to drive out of town?"

"Uh huh," Sam replied nodding, still not sure what to make of Jack's behaviour but also being too tired to give it much thought.

For the next couple of hours Jack drove in silence – apart from a CD playing softly in the background - while Sam stared out the window. Her thoughts were drifting from what the snake had done to her to what Jack expected from her to thinking not at all. The farther they got away from her house, the more nervous she became until she subconsciously started to wring her hands.

Jack, who was having his own thoughts about the situation, kept stealing glances towards Sam. When her knuckles started to turn white from all that hand wringing, he covered her hands with his right one.

"Relax. It's going to be alright," he simply stated, looking at her for a short moment.

"Yeah, sure!" Sam replied bitterly. How could he say it was going to be alright if he didn't even _know_ what happened!

"Yes, I _am_ sure!" Jack said a bit more forcefully than he had intended. It had to be. And Sam was strong, not like him who had slowly gone nuts while keeping everything inside, she could overcome this latest thing fate threw at her, because she was able to talk about this stuff. He'd make sure of it.

"How can you know this? You don't even know what's wrong!" Sam shouted back angrily.

Not faced by her outburst, Jack simply stopped at the next opportunity – and he had to admit even now Sam had a great timing, because he wouldn't have been able to stop safely throughout the last half an hour or so – and turned to her.

"You're right, I don't know what's wrong. But I have been fighting the snake heads at least as long as you, so I know fully well what they are capable of!" Jack replied reasonably.

"It's just-" Sam started agitated before any remaining energy left her body at once and she just slumped forward.

"C'mere," Jack simply said, while moving to hug her somewhat awkwardly because of the positions they were in.

Sam folded into his embrace, finally allowing the pent-up fear for her daughter to break free in form of tears. Eventually, when the first bout of tears had subsided, Sam leaned back into her seat and - for the first time after her return to the SGC - looked at Jack openly.

"Thanks," Sam said gratefully.

"You're welcome. You know that, right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, somehow I often seem to end up crying all over you lately," Sam replied, giving him a half-smile.

"Well, that must be my charm or something," Jack replied flippantly, glad to see Sam gaining some control of her situation.

"Yeah," Sam answered, chuckling, before coming serious once again. "You didn't ask any questions."

"No. And I'm not going to because I trust you to finally talk to me – or whoever you choose - about what happened with the snake," Jack replied just as serious.

"Thanks," Sam said again, squeezing his hand that was still holding hers. "For everything."

Grinning, Jack nodded and after using his thumb to remove the last traces of tears from her cheeks, started the car again. They kept on driving in silence, though both felt more at ease now.

"Hey! I didn't even tell you were to go!" Sam realised surprised some time later.

"And yet I'm exactly where you want me to be?" Jack asked, grinning at Sam.

"Uhm..." Sam replied, before blushing deeply.

"What did I-" Jack started confused, not seeing why Sam would suddenly blush. But when he finally realised it, he rolled his eyes, adding cheerfully, "You know what I mean, right?"

"Right. Sorry," Sam answered sheepishly.

"Ah, don't worry," Jack replied grinning.

"So..." Sam asked curiously.

"So?"

"How did you know where to go?" Sam clarified.

"Oh, that. When I woke up after being rescued in Iraq, all I wanted to do was hold on to Charly – and Sarah, to be honest." Jack stated matter of fact.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sam replied quietly, realising that he really _understood_ her and not just said so.

"Good." Jack said, both understanding the deeper meaning behind this simple word.

Silence once again reigned in the car, until Jack drove off the main road.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Easy, there's supposed to be a motel down this road and we need a place to sleep tonight, okay? I just want to check in, then we'll drive to the camp," Jack replied reassuringly.

"Oh! I guess you're right," Sam admitted sheepishly.

"Hey, it's alright. Thinking of this stuff is my job tonight, okay?"

"Thanks," she replied, once again smiling slightly.

After Jack booked them a twin-room – in no way he'd be leaving Sam by herself tonight – they drove on towards Camp Milcreek. Once they reached the perimeter of the camp, Jack stopped the car, and when Sam looked questioningly at him, motioned for her to get out.

"That way we don't draw attention to ourselves. You okay with that?" Jack asked, not knowing if _seeing_ rather than _meeting_ Caity would be enough for Sam.

The problem was that Sam didn't know this for herself. Seeing her indecision, Jack continued, "How about we go and take a look first, than decide how to continue this?"

Taking a deep breath, Sam finally nodded. So Jack took point and just like on any mission – minus the equipment – both moved stealthily towards the camp. As they neared the parking lot, they could see a big fire in the distance and as they got closer, they could hear singing too. All in all, the kids seemed to have the time of their life. Staying out of any light, they moved closer to the fire and now could hear the camp director talk. Apparently it was time for bed, and even though the kids didn't seem to agree everyone scrambled off to their respective cabins after a final song.

Right after they heard Gary Hines' announcement, Sam took over and let Jack towards the hill, where she knew the cabins – and especially her daughter's cabin Romania - were located. As soon as they found a secluded spot, the kids started to arrive, chatting animatedly between each other. Sam had subconsciously grabbed Jack's hand tightly, and only released it, when she saw Caity happily skipping towards Romania.

Slowly she released the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, already feeling much better than she had all day. A big load had just been taken from her mind – and Sam started to shake. Jack quietly moved over, holding onto her tightly for the second time this evening. Sam didn't cry though, but needed the time to let all the tension leave her body.

They stayed there until everyone, including the adults, had gone to bed. Only then Sam moved out of Jack's comforting embrace, telling him she was ready to go back to the car.

Once they reached the motel, Jack parked the car in front of their room. Giving Sam the keys, he told her he'd be right back and left for the office once again. Shrugging her shoulders, Sam took her bag and went into the room. Taking in the arrangement of the room, Sam realised that Jack wasn't going to leave her alone that night – and she was glad about it.

Only a few minutes later, Jack came back, carrying several sandwiches. They ate in comfortable silence and after Sam kept yawning throughout the meal, Jack suggested she should go ahead and get ready for bed. After Sam finished, it was Jack's turn to use the bathroom and once he was finished, Sam was already lying in bed, though her eyes were still wide open.

"No," Sam whispered when Jack went to use the other bed.

Looking up, he saw her blushing slightly – though her pleading eyes were the most prominent feature in her face at that moment.

"You sure?" Jack asked quietly.

"Please," Sam replied more confident now, holding up the blankets for him to slip under.

After another few seconds, Jack finally moved over to Sam's bed, lying down next to her. Sighing deeply, Sam curled up against his side, once again relishing in the safe feeling he conveyed to her. Jack didn't know what to do with the arm Sam was partially lying on, so he did what came naturally – putting it around her waist. In response, Sam just snuggled up closer to him, so his other arm ended up hugging her as well. And despite the circumstances it felt great to him.

Jack was just about trying to decide whether Sam was asleep already, when she started to talk. First, he almost didn't hear her because she was talking that quietly. But after the first sentences her voice – though still not loud – became steadier as she started to tell him about everything that happened between her and the snake.

While Sam talked, Jack felt utterly helpless and only held her tighter, stroking her back, to give her as much support as he could. When she was finally finished, Sam felt just as exhausted as she did after the snake had died. Only this time she felt truly safe, allowing her body to being overtaken by the sleep that would start the slow healing process.

Jack, on the other hand, was awake for a long time after Sam's revelations. He subconsciously kept on drawing soothing circles on her back while promising himself to do everything to help her through this ordeal. Finally, holding securely onto Sam, he let himself drift off to sleep as well.

_

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the shortness (compared to my usual chapters that is), but I have this sitting on my computer for a week now and simply can't find the time to write the second part. So Caity will be back in the next one – and though it's not written yet, the ideas of what's going to happen are more than enough to make me smile! LOL. _


	33. Chapter 33

_Recently (in an unfortunately not so recent update):_

_While Sam talked, Jack felt utterly helpless and only held her tighter, stroking her back, to give her as much support as he could. When she was finally finished, Sam felt just as exhausted as she did after the snake had died. Only this time she felt truly safe, allowing her body to being overtaken by the sleep that would start the slow healing process._

_Jack, on the other hand, was awake for a long time after Sam's revelations. He subconsciously kept on drawing soothing circles on her back while promising himself to do everything to help her through this ordeal. Finally, holding securely onto Sam, he let himself drift off to sleep as well._

**Chapter 33**

During the night, Jack was woken twice by Sam having a nightmare. Fortunately, he managed to sooth her back to sleep without actually waking her, hoping she wouldn't remember her nightmares in the morning. So when he finally woke up in the morning, he decided to let her sleep for a little while longer, turning off the alarm she had set the night before.

Jack enjoyed the feeling of Sam in his arms, being able to simply watch her sleep. Right now, she looked so relaxed and peaceful that he could almost forget what she'd told him last night, almost think it was just a dream. Unfortunately, _almost_ didn't mean it didn't happen. So all he could do was holding her close, silently promising her he'd keep her and Caity safe. Forever.

Of course, theoretically Jack knew there wasn't a thing he could have done to prevent things from happening, to prevent Sam from being tortured both physically and mentally – because that's basically what that bastard of a snake did to her. But that didn't mean he didn't feel guilty, didn't feel like he had let her down, didn't feel like he had failed her. Again.

Sighing deeply, Jack moved slightly to kiss the top Sam's head as she tried to snuggle even closer in her sleep. Knowing that repeatedly blaming himself wouldn't help Sam in anyway, he shoved those thoughts in the back of his mind, concentrating on the task at hand – Sam. Kissing her once again, he relaxed against her completely, waiting for her to wake up.

It took another hour before Sam finally started to stir. Jack could tell the exact moment when the memories of the last few days came back full force as Sam went from being relaxed to being as tense as humanly possible in under a second.

"Shh," Jack started, once again rubbing her back. "It's alright. You're safe, as is Caity. Remember?"

Nodding, Sam finally relaxed against Jack again. Until she caught a glimpse of the alarm clock, which caused her to sit up straight.

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed surprised, sitting up next to Sam. "Easy!"

"You switched off the alarm!" Sam accused him, punching his arm before getting up and rushing into the bathroom.

"Because you needed the sleep and there's still plenty of time to get to camp!" Jack replied louder than he intended, following Sam into the bathroom – and stopping mid-motion, staring wide-eyed at Sam who had already shed her shirt to use the shower.

"Sir!" she all but screeched, using the shirt she was just about to drop to cover her front.

Shaking himself mentally, Jack blushed deeply and finally managed to croak a weak "Sorry!", before he turned hastily and left the bathroom.

Once outside again, Jack had to take several deep breaths to calm down. Although Sam's reflexes were pretty good, she hadn't been fast enough and he caught a glimpse of her chest. Her very naked – her very _gorgeous_ naked chest. And despite everything else, he was a healthy man and he really _liked_ Sam, so his body – or a certain part of it – reacted immediately. Hence, the deep breaths.

Then again, his body had to have the _worst_ timing ever. Maybe Thor's inexplicable bad timing had rubbed off on it? Anyway, now wasn't the time to think of Sam becoming anything more than a good friend. She had more than enough to worry about with her new life as full-time mom to Caity as well as her new job as full-time mom to all those scientists at the SGC. He didn't want to add his old, battered self into the mix as well. Not to mention that he had no idea if Sam _wanted_ him to be more than a friend.

WHOA! Where did this train of thoughts come from anyway? A relationship with Sam? When did that happen? True, they spent more time together recently, but it was only because Sam needed someone who knew what she was going through, someone to help her cope. Just as she needed someone to be there for her last night and he was the only one available, right? Right – who was he kidding? Despite the circumstances he had _enjoyed_ holding her, soothing her, keeping her nightmares away. _Crap_. He was _so_ in trouble!

Just as this newest revelation hit him, Sam left the bathroom.

"Uhm... sorry. I didn't meant to ... you know?" Jack said, blushing lightly once again.

"Huh?" Sam replied distractedly, before continuing "Oh! Okay, don't worry. Now, could you hurry so we can get Caity, please?"

Raising his eye-brows, Jack turned towards the bathroom, but couldn't help himself to ask cautiously, "You'll still be here when I'm finished, right?"

Sighing deeply, Sam nodded and started to pack her few belongings. Though every fibre of her body just screamed to get the hell out of here and on the road to Camp Millcreek, she also couldn't bring herself to disappoint Jack. Not after all he had done for her in the last couple of month, and especially last night. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't expected to be able to sleep at all. Or at least expected a nightmare or two. And yet she _did_ sleep and actually felt rested to some degree. And Sam knew that no matter how she looked at it, being in Jack's arms had all and everything to do with it.

But, as usual, the timing sucked. Big time. No matter what she might be feeling towards Jack, Caity had to come first. Sam had missed so much of her life already, she wasn't going to let her daughter alone ever again. And after everything that happened recently, she basically needed all her energy to give Caity a somewhat normal life while trying to stay sane after the loss of her son and the recent Goa'uld disaster. There simply was no room for any sort of relationship with Jack O'Neill. Besides, just because _she_ might still like Jack didn't meant _he_ still felt the same for her!

Of course, that both she _and_ Caity wanted and, well, needed Jack in their life never once crossed Sam's mind.

_

* * *

A/N: This was just a wee little chapter to tell everyone I'm still alive and kicking – and it kinda felt like a good place to stop before the fun with Caity begins again! Anyway, sorry about the long delay, but RL got a bit crazy recently. However, one really BIG project of mine is almost finished so I have finally time to write again. There will be another, longer chapter within the week – before RL might get crazy again. So thanks for all your patience!_


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

When Jack left the bathroom a short time later, Sam was already pacing in front of the front door.

"You ready? Can we go now?" Sam asked quite desperately.

"Almost. But I have to go to the front desk first," Jack replied almost apologetically.

"Damn! ... Make it fast!" Sam all but demanded.

This time Jack didn't reply but simply raised his eye-brows questioningly at Sam's use of her commanding voice.

"Sorry," Sam apologised sheepishly. "But could you make it quick, _please_?"

"Be right back," Jack promised reassuringly.

True to his word, Jack was back within a few minutes – with a tray full of food.

"What? You want eat now?" Sam asked liked Jack head suddenly grown an additional head. "You can't be serious!"

Sighing, Jack put the tray on the table, turning towards Sam and gently holding her by her arms. "Sam, look, I know you want nothing more but to go to camp and hug Caity like you'll never want to let go of her again. And I understand that completely."

"But-" Sam started beaten, knowing that she had to wait for Jack as he was having the car keys. Damn, why didn't she take them while he was in the bathroom?

"But the kids are probably just having breakfast, too. So if we leave now, we'll be there early and Caity won't be able to enjoy those special last minutes with her new-found friends while everyone anticipates their parents to arrive. There's probably some sort of leaving ritual going on as well – I remember Charlie bringing some sort of Memory Book that they got that last morning and that held lots of little notes from all his friends - and you won't want Caity rid of this. Would you?" Jack explained calmly, absently stroking her arms with his thumbs soothingly.

"No," Sam whispered, head hung low.

"Sam, look at me," Jack asked, "Please." When Sam finally moved her head upwards, he continued with conviction, "Caity _is_ fine. No, she's _much_ better than fine. I promise."

Looking into her eyes, Jack practically willed Sam to believe him – and was finally rewarded with a slight nod.

"Good. So, how about some breakfast?" he added grinning, clearly relieved that Sam seemed to relax. Somewhat anyway.

"I'm not really hungry, sorry," Sam answered, hoping beyond hope that if _she_ didn't eat _he_ might finish earlier too. Of course, had she been able to think clearly, she'd have realised that there was no way this was going to happen.

"Ah! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Jack exclaimed, wriggling his eye-brows for emphasis – and earning a small smile for his efforts.

Shoving the toast around her plate, Sam looked up, saying, "Sorry, I-" ... and found herself not being able to continue, as there was suddenly a spoon full of fruit loops in her mouth.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Jack replied, grinning mischievously while watching Sam slowly chewing and swallowing his favourite kind of breakfast.

Scrunching up her nose – which, in Jack's eyes, looked pretty cute – Sam answered, "Yuck! I don't know what you see in this stuff!"

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed offended. "That borders on insubordination!"

"Yeah, sure." Sam snorted, while absently reaching for her toast.

"Okay, I might have been exaggerating a little-" Jack started, receiving another snort. "- well, a lot. But Caity likes them too, so they can't be that bad!"

"Yeah, because every 7-year old knows what's good for them," Sam countered, though smiling slightly.

"Well... at least they have good taste!" Jack replied, seemingly pouting.

Shaking her head at his antics, Sam simply smiled and went back to her breakfast, silently thanking Jack for making her eat. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone, but she _was_ hungry and now that Jack had managed to ease her fears for Caity to some degree, she was also able to act on it.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Please tell me it's not what I think it is," Sam asked pleadingly, closing her eyes in defeat.

"It's not what you think it is," Jack answered, while slowly coming to a stop on their way to Camp Milcreek. Well, technically they had just left the motel and weren't even on the main road, yet.

"Then why are we stopping?" Sam asked slightly annoyed.

"Because it is what you think it is," Jack replied matter-of-factly.

"Then why did you say it isn't?" Sam asked, curiosity mixing into her annoyance.

"Because you asked me to?" Jack answered, giving her his best boyish grin.

"ARGH!" Sam all but shouted clearly frustrated. "Why me? Why always me?" she added more quietly.

Turning towards Sam – he had stopped the car on the side of the road – Jack took her hands in his, smiling encouragingly, "Relax. I know that tire must have the worst timing ever, but it won't take long to change it. And we'll probably still be one of the first to arrive at camp. Okay?"

Theoretically, Sam knew Jack was right.

Theoretically, she knew there was nothing to worry about.

But right now, every minute she was away from holding Caity safe in her arms were nothing but torture, as her overactive mind showed her picture after picture of Caity dying a horrific death. Nevertheless, she nodded her understanding, afraid if she'd Jack let in on her fears he'd want to reassure her, telling her Caity was safe, thus wasting precious time he could use to change that damn tire. So she simply said she was okay, waiting for Jack to leave the car and get started.

As soon as Jack started on removing the old tire, Sam started to pace up and down next to him, sighing loudly. Repeatedly. And it was slowly but surely driving him nuts. If anyone would ask Jack later on, he'd state that she had obviously succeeded in her task because that was the only explanation of what happened next. Honestly.

He was just returning from the back of his car, where he swapped the flat tire with a new one, when he couldn't stand Sam's pacing anymore. So he put the new tire down, turned around and grabbed Sam's shoulder to make her stop. But the moment she looked up at him, confused, he couldn't stand the anxiousness in her eyes anymore, just wanting to make her feel better. And without thinking, he simply leaned forward and placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.

To say who was more surprised by his move was impossible, but Jack recovered first. Seeing just how shocked and confused Sam was, he repeated his move – only this time he was fully aware of what he was doing! And well, his lips just _might_ have lingered somewhat longer...though he was definitely not going to blame them!

With Sam standing stock-still, trying to process what the hell had just happened, Jack put the new tire in place in a personal record – and all the while he was grinning like an idiot. Even more so when he stood up to put the car-jack away and found Sam standing where he left her, carefully tracing her lips with her fingertips, her eyes closed.

Still grinning, he gently touched her arm to get her attention, "I'm finished. Let's go."

Shaking her head to clear the daze she was finding herself in, Sam finally moved again, getting into the car.

"Soo ... you okay?" Jack asked after the silence in the car got beyond awkward.

"Uh huh," Sam replied absently, trying to turn her literally 'turned into goo'-insides into something more solid again. Of course, they weren't cooperating all that much. Bah!

"You sure?" Jack asked nervously. Maybe he _did_ went too far by kissing her like that. True, the first time wasn't exactly planned but the second time _was_ and - he had to admit – he had more than enjoyed it. But what if Sam wasn't feeling the same way and he had embarrassed her with his behaviour?

"Uhm ... yeah," Sam croaked, blushing deeply. Well, nothing was okay, because all she wanted to do now was holding Caity ... and kissing Jack again – and both were impossible at the moment.

Oh god, she blushed! Good or bad. Good or bad. Good or bad?

Did she blush because she liked it and was surprised by his kiss like himself? _Good_.

Did she blush because she didn't like it and didn't know how to tell him that? _Bad_.

Did she want to have less contact with him in their time off now because everything else would be awkward? _Very_ bad.

Would that mean he'd loose not only Sam but Caity too? _Very, very_ bad.

Whoa! STOP! He should really stop working himself in such an – unmanly – frenzy! Take deep breaths, buddy. Deep breaths.

"Good," he half-stated, half-asked after a while – hoping to get a better idea of her feelings. _If_ she replied to the half-question part at all.

"Yeah," Sam replied shakily, before taking a deep breath and adding confidently, "Good."

"Sweet!" Jack couldn't help himself to comment, grinning from ear to ear. And glancing over to Sam, he could make out a smile on her face as well. Yep, sweet indeed!

Through the rest of the drive both were deep in – happy – thoughts as Jack's unexpected kisses had managed to banish Sam's darker thoughts to the back of her mind. But as soon as Jack turned off the main road, following the sign to Camp Milcreek, Sam became more and more restless again. At one point Jack had to put his right hand on Sam's left knee to keep her legs from shaking too badly.

Both sighed deeply when they finally reached Camp Milcreek – though for different reasons. Sam, obviously, wanted to do nothing more but have Caity back safe and sound. And Jack, well, he wanted nothing more than to see Sam finally smiling again - for longer than a few short minutes that is.

xoxoxoxoxo

True to Jack's promise, there were only a couple of cars already in the parking lot when they arrived. By then, Sam was fidgeting so much in her seat, that he was afraid she'd actually be trying to get out of the car _before_ he had the chance to stop. Luckily, Sam had herself at least under that much control that she didn't open her door until Jack _had_ stopped the car. Barely.

By the time he got the keys out of the ignition, Sam had almost reached the stairs up to the porch around the main building, where kids were standing around in groups, chatting animatedly with each other.

"Mommy!" Caity cried out excitedly, just as Sam reached the top of the stairs – and Jack was halfway on his way there.

Even from the distance Jack could see how tense Sam was and how that changed as soon as she knelt down to hug Caity for all she was worth.

"You okay?" Sam couldn't help herself but ask in a shaky voice, kissing her daughters forehead, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Yeah! I had lots of fun!" Caity replied enthusiastically. "Missed you, though," she admitted more quietly.

"I missed you too. A lot," Sam replied, more in control of her voice now.

Nevertheless, Caity had picked up on the quivering in her mom's voice. "Mommy? You okay?" she asked concerned, leaning back to look in her mommy's face.

"Uh huh," Sam tried to reassure her daughter while standing up with Caity securely in her arms. "I fine. Though I could do with a big cuddle-feast, you know?" Sam added, finally smiling at her daughter.

Smiling happily, Caity leaned back into her mommy, "Yeah! And I'll tell you all from camp! And we can have chocolate!"

"Chocolate? Did anyone say chocolate?" Jack asked grinning, after having watched mother and daughter for the last minute or so.

"Uncle Jack!" Caity cried happily, holding her arms out towards him so he could take her up from her mother's arms.

"Hey munchkin," Jack replied, moving closer to give Caity a quick kiss on the forehand and hug her while she was still in Sam's arms – but never actually tried to take her from Sam. "So, what have you been up to? Driving anyone crazy lately?" Jack added grinning.

Caity only shook her head, giggling.

"Hm... maybe you rode a bear around the neighbourhood?" Jack asked musingly.

"No!" Caity answered, giggling even louder. "You can't ride bears, silly! But we rided horses!"

"You did? Hm, yeah, I think I heard about something like this..." Jack continued thoughtfully, pleased to hear Caity giggling continually – something he had admittedly missed, a lot – and even more so, pleased to see Sam smiling again. Winking at her, he continued, "So, what's your favourite place around here, then?"

"The lake!" Caity replied immediately. "You can do all things of stuff – and even fish!"

"You can fish here?" Jack asked, eyes lighting up by the thought of fishing – though preferably at his own lake.

"Yep. And swim and play games and even sail!" Caity explained excitedly.

"Wow! No wonder there was no time for riding bears!" Jack replied, getting another bout of giggles as reply. Leaning in closer, he whispered conspiratorially, "Then why don't you show your mommy the lake while I'll go and get everything else settled?" Besides, it would also give Sam some more alone-time with Caity, something he knew she needed rather sooner than later.

"Okay. But you'll go home with us, right?" Caity asked, concerned that Jack had to leave again. She had missed him too, after all.

"Promise. As long as you don't insist on driving, though," Jack replied, winking at her. Grinning at her giggles, Jack made his way over to the group he had seen Caity coming from in the first place.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Heya," he greeted the six girls – and the three adults, presumable the counselors - that were watching him curiously as he came closer.

The little girls were more or less shyly smiling back at him, some even waved but it was one of the counselors that spoke first. "Colonel O'Neill, I presume?"

"Yep, at least that's what everyone keeps calling me, so I guess it's my name" he replied smiling, getting a few giggles from the girls, all the while becoming mildly curious as to why the counselor would know his name.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca, one of Caity's counselors," the pretty red-head started, "earlier today Caity's uncle - a Jake Pullman - called, asking us to tell you that Tammie's parents are going to bring Caity's safety seat with them."

Raising his eyebrows, Jack realised that he and Sam had come in his car and although he remembered to take Sam's bag, he forgot about the safety seat. But after calling Jake last night, he – or rather his wife – must have thought of that and organised something. Which, of course, brought up another question. Who the hell were Tammie's parents, or Tammie for that matter.

"Okay, thanks," he replied, hiding his confusion about the identity of Tammie and her parents behind a smile.

"You have no idea who Tammie or her parents are, right?" Rebecca asked grinning.

Well, looks like he did a crap job of hiding his confusion then. But before he could reply, one of the girls spoke up.

"But that's Tammie," one of the girls said almost accusingly, pointing at Tammie who was standing at the back of the group. How could he not know that? Grown-ups where really strange sometimes!

"Tammie," Jack started, moving closer towards the blond girl and crouching down in front of her while trying to think of where Jake might know her parents from, "it's a pleasure to meet you!". Leaning closer, he looked conspiratorially at her and whispered so only she and Rebecca, who was standing next to her, could hear him, "We didn't met before, right?"

Seeing her shaking her head, smiling shyly at him, Jack stood up, sighing theatrically. "Oh good. And here I was, thinking I was getting old!"

"But you are old! Look! Your hair is all grey and stuff!" The girl from before announced.

"Cheyenne!" Rebecca said, looking apologetically at Jack.

"It's okay," Jack replied, winking at Tammie, "I might be old, but I'm still the best at playing tickle-war!"

"Uh oh!" several of the girls announced at that, using their hands to cover their mouths.

"What?" Jack asked confused. What's wrong with a little tickle-war now and then?

Shaking her head at him and trying to hide her smile, Rebecca explained, "Seems like the boys were annoying the girls a bit too much, so Caity came up with this plan to kinda, well, ambush the boy and initiate a tickle-war with them."

"So?" Jack asked, he couldn't see anything wrong with that. Far from it, Caity planned an ambush? That's my girl!

"We won!" Tammie answered, surprising Jack by taking his hand and smiling brilliantly up at him.

"Sweet!"

"Or not. It was just after dinner and all that fighting, even if it was just tickling each other, caused two of the boys to throw up. And not only over themselves," Rebecca explained, shaking her head as she remembered that particular mess.

"Ew!" Jack answered – and was joined by each of the girls surrounding him.

"That about sums it up. Seems like the girls were too excited about the upcoming event to eat all that much for dinner, so they were fine," Rebecca continued.

Luckily, Jack was spared to think of any reply as one of the girls was picked up by her parents. So he simply stepped out of the way, leaving the girls to say there good-byes. He just remembered that he still hadn't any clue of whether he should know Tammie or her parents when he felt someone gently tucking at his hand.

"Huh?" he asked, looking down to see Tammie once again holding onto his hand, looking up at him as if she wanted to ask something but wasn't quite brave enough to do so. "What is it, Tammie?" Jack asked, smiling back at her.

"Can you really juggle?" she asked him with curious eyes.

"Juggle?"

"Uh huh. Caity said you could!" Tammie added, obviously feeling much more comfortable around him now.

"Did she?"

"Yeah!" several of the kids replied, looking hopefully up at him. Not being able to withstand five pairs of hopeful eyes, he started to look around for something he could use – and catching Rebecca's amused look. Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he moved just inside the building to grab some apples.

While he was entertaining the kids – others than those from Caity's group had joined them as well – more and more parents arrived to take their children home.

"Finally found someone to appreciate your talents, Jack?" an amused – and well known – voice interrupted him suddenly, causing the loss of his concentration, and hence, the apples.

"Daddy!" Tammie squealed in delight, basically jumping in his outstretched arms.

"Dixon?" Jack asked surprised.

"Jack," Dave acknowledged him amused while hugging his daughter, before turning more serious, "where's Carter?"

"Down by the lake," Jack simply replied.

"She okay?" Dave asked concerned, while handing Tammie over to his wife.

"She'll be," Jack replied, nodding, and walking away from the kids.

"That's good to hear."

"So, I guess you've got something for us?" Jack asked, preferring to talk about something else but Sam's last experience.

"Yep, Jake brought Caity's safety seat over this morning. It's back in our car," Dave replied, nodding towards the car park.

"So you know," Jack stated.

"Oh yeah," Dave answered, smirking, "though, aren't you afraid the Carter's are going to take over the SGC soon?"

"Who says they haven't already?" Jack asked, quirking his eyebrows.

"True," Dave replied, snickering. "Should get interesting when it hits the grapevine, though."

"Yeah, there's that," Jack replied simply. "Just make sure you aren't starting it."

"Don't worry. I respect Carter way too much than to start talking about her private life. Besides, I quite like my life as it is and somehow I don't think that little indiscretion would go down well with Jake – and some others." Dave answered sincerely.

"Good," Jack said, slapping Dave non too gently on his shoulders, leading him back to the remaining girls and therefore, Dave's daughter.

"Daddy!" Tammie said excitedly, interrupting both Dave's and Jack's thoughts, as they reached everyone else again. "Can Caity come to my birthday party? Cause she's my bestest friend ever and we won the tickle-war against the boys!"

"Tickle-war?" Dave asked confused, picking up Tammie.

"You don't wanna know," Jack replied, groaning. "Believe me."

"But it was fun! Can you teach me how to properly tickle-fight like Caity's Jack showed Caity? Please?" Tammie all but begged. "Caity's Jack can show you, right?" she added, turning her puppy-dog eyes to Jack, who so far had enjoyed seeing Dave slowly but surely being manipulated by his daughter. Apparently it was his turn now...

"Uh, sure..." Jack answered, unable to turn Tammie down, either.

"Sweet!" came Tammie's prompt reply – leaving Dave to groan theatrically. He only knew one person who loved that expression – and it for sure wasn't his sweet, innocent, little daughter!

Before he could comment on it though, Tammie squirmed in his arms, wanting to be put down. As soon as her feet hit the ground she started running towards the stairs. Looking up, Dave could see Carter and her daughter slowly coming back from the lake, Caity obviously talking animatedly to her mom.

"Might as well get the bags and meet them down there," Dave's wife Ellen commented, leaving Dave and Jack to grab the bags she pointed out to them.

As they got closer, Dave could see Caity talking happily to his own daughter, yet never leaving her mom's side, always remaining in contact. While Caity seemed happy enough, Carter seemed pretty strained and preoccupied by something. But he did trust Jack cover that front, to take care of Carter.

As soon as they reached them, Caity looked up at Jack, worry crossing her face. And, at least to Dave, it also looked like she wanted to come over to Jack but was afraid to loose touch with her mother at the same time.

"Mommy's hurt," Caity told Jack concerned.

Before Jack could reply though, Sam stepped in, "I'm fine, really."

"But you winced when I hugged you and that means you're hurt!" Caity said stubbornly, before her eye's started to fill up with tears, "and I don't want you to hurt."

"Hey, I'm fine. _Really_," Sam said gently, kneeling down to take Caity in her arms. True, the spot where the stupid symbiote had entered her neck _was_ sore – the symbiote had just begun to heal it, and started on the outside to destroy any evidence - but she could handle it. Caity had just managed to press on the worst spot, which _had_ hurt.

"But-" Caity started, sniffing back her tears.

"Ssh, it's nothing to worry about," Jack said, kneeling next to Caity and Sam. "Besides, Aunty Janet gave me something really special to fix your mommy really fast!"

"Yeah?" Caity asked sceptically.

"She's a doctor, right? She knows this stuff," Jack continued, rubbing Caity's back gently. Seeing her nod, he added, "But I need your help to make it work faster, okay?"

"Uh huh," Caity said, wiping her last tears away.

"Sweet," Jack replied, grinning. "Let's get to the car and I get Aunty Janet's wonder stuff."

Once there, Jack opened the passenger door and got a simple enough looking ointment out of the glove compartment.

"Now, Caity, what does your mommy do when you hurt yourself to make it better?" Jack asked gently, while Caity was standing in front of her mommy, never loosing touch with her.

"Putting stingy stuff on it?" Caity asked, wrinkling her nose. She wanted to help her mommy, not make her hurt more!

Laughing, Jack ruffled her hair and asked, "And then?".

"I get to choose a plaster?" Caity asked confused. How was that going to help now?

"And?" Jack prompted.

"Oh!" Caity exclaimed excitedly. She'd almost forgotten the really important part! "Then mommy gives me lots and lots of kisses to make the pain go away!"

"See? Now Aunty Janet's medicine works much better if you kiss the pain away before you put it on," Jack explained smiling.

"Sweet!"

"Yep," Jack said, "Now, do you think you can help me out there?"

"Uh huh," Caity replied, nodding enthusiastically.

"Good. Come here," Jack said, bending down to pick Caity up. "Now you'll kiss your mommy all better and than I put Aunty Janet's wonder stuff on it to make it last, okay?"

"Yep!"

"Good."

Sam, who had watched the exchange with growing embarrassment, yet being glad for Jack's ability to reassure Caity that easily, couldn't help but blush when Jack, holding Caity, moved over to her.

"Don't worry, mommy! Me and Uncle Jack make you better in no time!" Caity told her.

Dave, who had watched the interchange with a growing smile – or better, mischievous grin - couldn't help himself but add, "You know, Caity, don't you think it would even work better if both you and Jack kissed your mom?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, while both Sam and Jack said, "No!"

"But when I hurt my knee it was much _much_ better when you and Uncle Jack kissed it, remember?" Caity asked her mom – who couldn't help but groan. Why her? Why? Wasn't the snake enough for one week?

"Yeah, I feel better when mommy and daddy kiss the pain away, too!" Tammie chimed in, causing Dave to grin even more.

"Mommy?" Caity asked concerned. Her mommy was way too quiet for her comfort! And really red too! As was her Uncle Jack. Maybe he got sick too?

"You should listen to the kids, you know," Dave added – he was enjoying himself immensely right now and didn't care about the repercussions when he said his next words. "Though the older I become, the better kissing on the mouth works for me..."

"Yeah, grown-ups do that all the time," Tammie told Caity, who nodded in agreement. Grown-ups _did_ seemed to kiss each other on the mouth all the time! Even here in camp she had seen Tom, one of the boys counselors, kissing Rebecca when she fell and hurt herself during their free-time!

"Don't worry, mommy. I'll kiss you all better and Uncle Jack can put Aunty Janet's medicine on. And then he'll kiss you too to make it better really fast!" Caity finally announced, obviously pleased with herself.

Neither Sam nor Jack were so sure about the whole situation, but Caity didn't leave them any time to protest. Instead, she motioned her mommy closer and told her to turn around, so she could kiss her all better.

"Done! Now you've got to put Aunty Janet's medicine on!" Caity finally ordered Jack.

Figuring to better get done with it, Jack put the cream on Sam's neck. Meanwhile, a certain Colonel Dave Dixon was standing somewhat in the back, filming everything with his new and shiny digital video-camera.

"And now you have to kiss mommy!" Caity said matter-of-factly, looking at both of them expectantly.

_xoxoxoxo _

_A/N: Okay, uhm, I finished my most important project so far, moved country and language (at least Muse and I speak the same language now), started a new job – and all within the last two weeks? Does that count as excuse? And it's really long! goes into hiding, just in case ;-) _

_Anyway, I've finally got them to kiss! LOL! And looks like they have to continue next chapter, too! Am I forgiven? Huh? Please? Then push that (debatable) pretty button and tell me (and/or Muse) what you think!_


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"Uhm, I'm much better already. Really." Sam tried once again. After all, she was still confused by Jack's earlier kisses – or more precisely, how she felt about them.

"But-" Caity started.

"Honestly, I'm fine. Even better than fine," Sam added, smiling reassuringly at Caity.

"Uncle Ja-ack," Caity all but whined.

"Well, you heard your mom..." Jack replied, feeling both relieved and sorry about the apparent outcome of this situation.

This time Caity didn't reply, instead she looked up at him with her expressive blue eyes – and to his horror they were slowly filling up with tears. How was he supposed to resist now? So he was going to kiss Sam. Oh – _big, capital letters_ - CRAP, he was going to _kiss_ Sam! And this time it wasn't spontaneous but planned. Hm, maybe he should just-

"Come here," Jack said gently, moving to Sam, silently asking for her permission before kissing her softly on both cheeks.

"No, no, no, no! You're doing it all wrong!" Caity exclaimed. "You've got to kiss on the mouth. It only works that way for grown-ups," she added smartly. Why do grown-ups always have to be that difficult?

-or not. Damn. He'd really hoped they'd get away with it.

"Caity," Sam started, trying to reason once again. "It's okay, really!"

"MO-OM!" Caity replied, putting her hands on her hips, trying to stare her mommy down. Of course, she didn't really consider it that way – but Jack and the Dixons did and all – including Jack - had to smile at Caity's posture.

"Don't you like Uncle Jack anymore?" Caity finally asked hesitantly, looking worried between her mommy and Uncle Jack.

"Of course I do!" Sam replied forcefully. Maybe even more than she thought, she added silently.

"Uncle Jack?" Caity continued almost pleadingly.

"Of course I do lo-, uhm, like your mom!" Jack replied – and only due to his special forces training did he manage to _not_ blush furiously at his almost slip of tongue.

Then again, it was _so_ not lost on Dave Dixon and his smile grew even more – if that was possible at all. Add the fact that he caught everything on his camera and he felt really smug. There was so much good stuff on it now, he'd probably make a fortune selling copies of it to everyone at the SGC. Not that he was going to do so - he had promised to keep the things he learned about Sam secret for the time being after all – but that didn't mean there wouldn't come a time when his recordings would be priceless!

Still, he might just have to share them with Jake. He was Sam's big brother after all and would surely be interested. Hey, he might even give Jack a little bit of a hard time – in a concerned big brother kind of way. _That_ might be fun to watch! And it would also give Dave the opportunity to get someone on his side when this whole set up – especially as he wasn't exactly innocent in the things leading towards that kiss – might come to bite him in his six. But boy, the scene in front of him was _so_ worth it!

Meanwhile, both Sam and Jack were watching each other nervously, waiting for the inevitable to happen. But as soon as there eyes finally rested on each other, their surroundings slowly faded into the background until they were the only ones left. Jack hesitantly moved his hand to cup Sam's cheek, absently stroking it with his thumb before he slowly inched closer until his lips captured hers in a full kiss.

Only this time, Sam knew what was coming and at least her subconscious mind decided to take things in its own hands, causing Sam to deepen the kiss. And for once, Sam actually stopped thinking and only felt. Coincidently, her arms developed an own mind too and wrapped themselves around Jack, one hand going as far as playing with unruly hairs on the back of Jack's head.

Not that Sam was complaining – far from it, she loved the newly developed independence of those body parts of hers! Because if she would have been in complete control of her body, she surely wouldn't dare to press even closer to Jack's body and let her hand start to freely roam his back as she was doing now. Right? Right.

Jack, on the other hand, didn't need some initial help of his subconscious mind to simply feel in heaven. Kissing Sam – and he already had a glimpse of that this early morning – simply felt like the most natural thing and he could beat himself up for not doing this earlier. Of course, in the past there were unimportant things like fraternisation regs to prevent it, but still. And now that he had finally started, he was never going to stop again.

Or so he thought. Because now, Caity got worried. After all, her mommy and Uncle Jack were kissing awfully long now, so maybe her mommy was more hurt than she thought? And then she remembered something from just before she got to camp and became even more worried. So, after giving Jack enough time to cure her mommy, she spoke up.

"Mommy, you okay again? And Is Cassie alright too? Did Keenan kissing her all the time make her feel better again?" Caity asked with the innocence of a seven-year old.

Of course she was alright, Sam thought. Even better than that, she felt fantastic! But what was that about-

"Cassie? Kissing Keenan?" Both Sam and Jack asked shocked, this few words having the effect of a couple of buckets of cold water emptied directly over them. "When?" they - once again simultaneously - demanded to know.

"Uh huh. Just before I came here. Me and Maia and Lena and Lucas and Cassie and Keenan were playing in the backyard and Cassie fell and got hurt. But Keenan kissed her all better!" Caity explained patiently, before adding concerned, "Cassie is okay, right?"

"Uhm... sure, Cassie is fine," Sam, who was still standing very close to Jack, answered absently. "So Keenan kissed her in front of you?"

"Not really. They were in the kitchen and I was thirsty and when I came in they kissed just like you did right now!" Caity explained. "And it worked," she added happily, cause mommy just said Cassie is fine!

"Like us?" Sam all but screeched, shocked. Because the kiss between her and Jack was far from innocent. And if Keenan and Cassie ... oh boy.

"So, did you see them kiss anywhere else?" Jack asked calmly, though as close as Sam was standing, she could feel the tension radiate off of him. Absently, she started to stroke his back again, only this time it was to calm him down.

"Only once like this. But I saw them holding hands and Keenan was telling Cassie lots of secret jokes and stuff," Caity replied.

"Secret jokes?" Jack asked, raising both his eyebrows.

"Yep. Keenan was leaning really close to Cassie and whispering in her ear and she was giggling and stuff. Oh! And Lucas was rolling his eyes at them. It looked funny!" Caity continued, giggling and being proud to still remember everything. She had almost forgotten about that! But- "Uncle Ja-ack? Why did Lucas tell them to go and get a room? I mean, Keenan already has a room and Cassie too, right?"

This time both Sam and Jack groaned. With all their heart.

"Mommy? Uncle Jack? You okay?" Caity asked fearful, stepping closer to them. That noise didn't sounded all that good.

"Yeah, we're fine," Sam reassured Caity, picking her up, hugging her close. How could she explain to her daughter just why both she and Jack reacted the way they did? God, she hoped Caity wouldn't start dating until she was ... well, never!

"That we are," Jack added gently, kissing Caity on the top of her head. Clearing his throat – and head – he added, "So, you ready to go home?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed excited.

Good. And hopefully she forgot all about Cassie and Keenan, because Jack wasn't sure he wanted to hear anything else. Though once they were back, he'd have to have a long talk with Cassie and, even more importantly, Keenan. And by the look of it, he wasn't the only one. Of course, just because he wanted that particular topic to be finished and done with for now, didn't mean it was...

"So, who is this Keenan?" Dave Dixon couldn't help himself but ask. Well, he knew who Cassie was and even met her a couple of times, but he also knew just how protective SG-1 were of her, but Keenan? He never heard any of them mention a Keenan before.

"Keenan is Caity's cousin, right?" Tammie chimed in, yet asking her new best friend if she got it right.

"Yep," Caity confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. But why did her mommy and Uncle Jack make that strange noise again?

"And he's protecting her from all the bullies and big bad meanies!" Tammie continued, proud to remember the stories Caity has told her.

"Ahh!" Dave replied, grinning at Sam and Jack. "Jake's son I presume?" This was even better than he thought! To hell with the consequences – and judging by the look in Jack's eyes he'd better be watching his back for a long _long_ time – he was having way too much fun right now. And though Sam was blushing, she didn't look as haggard as she had when he'd seen her earlier. So this was a good thing too, right?

"Dave," Jack simply said.

"Jack," Dave replied, grinning. Yep, he was feeling pretty masochistic right now.

"Yep, Uncle Jake is Keenan's daddy," Caity chimed in, unaware of the tension around her. "And Lucas and Maia's and Lena's too!"

"Big family, huh?" Dave asked, smiling at Caity.

"Uh huh. Did you know that Maia and Lena are twins?" Caity continued, already liking Tammie's dad very much.

"Really?" Dave replied, ignoring the almost murderous looks Jack was throwing him.

"Yeah! People often mix them up, but I don't!" Caity replied proudly.

"You must be just as clever as you mommy then," Dave said, ruffling Caity's hair and causing her to giggle.

"No! Nobody's smart like mommy!"

"You are probably right," Dave replied laughing. "She knows a lot of really big words, hm?"

"Uh huh," Caity answered, nodding enthusiastically. "But Uncle Jack is smart too!" Caity added as an afterthought.

"I know. He just likes to keep it a secret," Dave whispered conspiratorially, but making sure both Sam and Jack did hear what he was saying.

"I know!" Caity whispered back, grinning mischievously back at Dave, causing him to laugh out loud.

"You're definitely going to be just as smart as your mommy," he answered, still laughing.

"Dave, the car seat," Jack finally interrupted their talk, while thinking of all the not so nice places he was going to send a certain Colonel.

"Right. Be right back," he replied, ignoring Jack completely and tapping Caity on the nose instead. "We have to make sure you'll get home safe, huh?"

Giggling, Caity turned in her mom's arm and looked at Jack. "Tammie's daddy is really funny!"

Luckily, Jack didn't have to answer as Dave returned just then, handing Caity's car seat over to Jack.

"Oh! Daddy said you could come to my birthday party!" Tammie, who was on her mothers arms just like Caity, suddenly remembered.

"Sweet!" Caity exclaimed excitedly, before remembering she had to ask her mommy first. "Can I go, mommy? Please? Cause Tammie is my bestest friend ever!"

Knowing there was no way she could say no to that, Sam simply accepted the inevitable and nodded, silently giving her assent. But while she only sighed inwardly, there was a suspicious sound coming from her car, where Jack was fitting Caity's seat in. And she knew it had all and everything to do with who Tammie's father was and nothing with Tammie herself. Add to this that Dave looked way too pleased with himself and she could only agree with Jack's reaction.

On the other side, she could also see Dave clearly loved his daughter and seemed to truly like Caity too, so she could at least be sure that her daughter would be safe.

Sighing, she kissed her daughter's head and put her down. "Why don't you go and say good-bye to everyone so we can go home?"

"Okay mommy!" Caity replied happily before running back to the main building to say her own good-bye to the counselors, as she hadn't been able to do that before.

Meanwhile, Sam and Jack wished the Dixon's a safe drive home, waiting for Caity to finish. Seeing Sam nervously glancing towards her daughter's progress, Jack stepped closer once again, putting his hand reassuringly at the small of her back. Sighing quietly, Sam leaned into Jack, letting his presence comfort her.

Once Caity was finished, she came running back to the car but suddenly stopped in mid-motion – causing Sam to hold her breath fearfully. Only when she realised that Caity changed directions to go over to the Dixon's family car did she relax again. Though Jack calmly rubbing her back might have something to do with it as well.

Watching Caity interact with his daughter, Dave couldn't believe it. His quiet, sweet little daughter just had to choose Carter's kid – a kid most of the people at the SGC didn't know about at that – as her best friend. He could just smell the trouble those two would cause ahead of them! And judging by the way Caity acted today, he was pretty sure they would get away with almost everything. After all, who in there right mind would be able to resist the combined, big – possible teary – eyes of those two? He definitely wouldn't. And he had a feeling that neither would Jack. Shaking his head at this thought, he decided to just make the best out of it. What else could he do, after all?

"So, Caity, and you remember to watch after your mommy? Best make sure she gets lots of kisses from you – and your Uncle Jack, okay?" Dave told Caity, ruffling her hair one last time. He was a dead man anyway, so why not make it as sweet as possible and help those two to finally act on the feelings almost everyone in the SGC could see?

"I will," Caity replied enthusiastically. She'd almost forgotten about that! Winking him closer – or, more precisely, down at her level – so she could actually reach him, she kissed him on the cheek and added seriously, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Caity. You are welcome!" Dave replied, grinning. Yeah, he might be a dead man, but what a way to go! After all, who could claim to have been kissed by a sweet female Carter?

xoxoxoxoxo

"Okay, I'm done!" Caity announced, when she arrived back at Jack's car.

"Sweet!" Jack exclaimed, holding the back door open for her to climb in. "So, whatcha wanna do with the rest of this beautiful day?"

"Dunno?" Caity replied.

"No idea? Huh? Well, I know this great place that is just perfect for fishing and relaxing and Caity-cuddling!" Jack said, causing Caity to giggle.

"Sam?" Jack continued questioningly. "How about we get some food and find some quiet spot and Caity can start telling you all about her adventures? Or do you wanna go straight home?"

Instead of replying, Sam just shrugged her shoulders. As long as she was close to Caity – and she proved that by climbing into back seat as well, barely resisting to take her daughters hand in hers – she didn't care were they went.

"Mommy?" Caity asked concerned. "Maybe your kiss already stopped working?" Caity continued, looking up at Jack. Hadn't Tammie's dad told her to watch after her mommy closely? "Maybe you should kiss again before we go?"

"I'm going to kill him," Jack muttered almost inaudible after closing Caity's car door and walking around to where Sam was sitting.

"C'mere," Jack whispered to Sam as he reached her side of the car. Cupping Sam's face – and more importantly, _kissing_ Sam - for the third time this day, he thought maybe, just maybe, Dave Dixon was going to live another day.

* * *

_A/N: Phew. Can you believe it? As soon as I get at least some time to write, Muse is abandoning me, leaving me to cope with my writer's block alone! Isn't that mean? Anyway, hope you still liked it – and suggestions are always welcome! Though I still have a few ideas floating around ..._

_As always, thanks to all those lovely reviewers, cause reviews are a sure way to actually beat that annoying writer's block!_


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

It took Sam, Caity and Jack the rest of the day to get back to Colorado Springs, as Jack showed them one of his favourite places, even though it meant an almost two hour detour. On the way there, they stopped to get enough food to last the day and Caity was more than excited that her camping adventure wasn't over just yet. She kept on constantly talking about things she experienced at camp, which more than once brought a true smile on Sam's face.

They reached Jack's destination just about lunch-time and after a little snack Jack convinced both Sam and Caity – well, mostly Caity, who then looked with that much hope at her mom that Sam could hardly resist – to walk a bit before actually having their real lunch. In the end, Sam was glad to have agreed to the walk, even though she was too tired to really care in the beginning.

Because one minute they were walking on an, admittedly, nice and quiet path through the woods when Jack suddenly led them on an almost overgrown path off the main route and 5 minutes later their path opened to a beautiful clearing. A clearing, one could easily describe as pretty romantic, down to the little pond on the clearing's left side.

Caity squealed with delight when she stepped out of the woods and discovered the little pond. Once again, Sam couldn't help but smile at her daughter's pure joy of life. This, of course, was just what Jack had intended and once again Caity proved to be the best medicine for her mom.

After they had lunch, the day finally caught up with Caity and she moved over to sit on Sam's lap, where she wiggled around a bit until she was comfortable enough and then she closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Smiling, Sam watched her for a while before her eyes started to drop too. Without thinking, she let her head drop onto Jack's shoulder, falling asleep too and making Jack one of the happiest men on Earth.

When Sam awoke an hour later, Caity was still fast asleep, snuggled close to her chest. After watching her for a couple of minutes, Sam turned her head and found herself looking into the very much awake eyes of one Jack O'Neill – and Sam was lost. The brown eyes watching her had so much obvious love in them that Sam was simply overwhelmed, yet she couldn't break the contact and look away.

Sam didn't know how much time she spent just starring into Jack's eyes, when he finally moved his head towards her, kissing her softly – and yet in no way innocently - on the lips. Although, if she was honest with herself, she _did_ enjoy the kisses they shared so far, _this_ time her whole body was on fire within seconds – and in that one moment in time she was scared by her own reaction. This kiss contained so much promise of things to come – and her body obviously thought so too – yet Sam couldn't help herself and draw back from him. Not that she could move that much, Caity was still sleeping peacefully in her lap after all, but it was enough to break the kiss.

Afraid of Jack's reaction, Sam couldn't get herself to look at him so she just watched her daughter sleep. Of course, Jack rarely did what anyone expected him to do. So Sam shouldn't have been too surprised to feel him gently touch her chin, tilting her head upwards so she was looking at him – and yet she was.

Jack couldn't help but be surprised by his own actions.

Yes, he enjoyed those kisses they shared today. Yes, he enjoyed holding Sam at night, giving her comfort when she so desperately needed it.

But now he was basically _running_ into unknown territory, having nothing but his feelings to guide him – and yet he had never been more sure about what he had – no – what he wanted to do.

Because he enjoyed those kisses they shared today. Because he enjoyed holding Sam at night, giving her the comfort she so desperately needed.

So when Sam looked up at him after he had savoured the weight of her head on his shoulder and the sight of her finally relaxed features as she slept peacefully as well as the sight of Caity comfortably snuggled against her, the only logical thing for him to do was to kiss her.

Well, not just kiss her but really opening up and showing her his feelings through the kiss without holding anything back.

Something he had never done before. Ever.

Not even with Sara had he been able to do that, although he was opening up to her more than he did to anyone else. But with Sam, once he had finally admitted his feelings to himself, it just came naturally and both his body and soul hummed with happiness.

Of course, he'd never admit the latter part to anyone – well, apart from Sam – it just sounded way too mushy and the people at the SGC wouldn't definitely have a field day if they'd ever guessed his train of thoughts at this moment.

Even though he felt Sam drawing back from his kiss he wasn't too worried because he had felt her initial response, as for a second her body had hummed alongside his own before he could literally _feel_ the confusion radiating off of her. And he understood. So instead of being disappointed of her response – or lack thereof - he gently tilted her head upwards so she had no choice but to look at him and smiled that special smile that he reserved just for her.

"Shh, everything is going to be fine," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. After gently kissing her forehead he guided Sam's head back on his shoulder, wrapped his arm around her before continuing quietly, "I know it's the last thing you probably want to deal with right now, but I'll always be there for you and Caity. And when – or if – you are ready for more, then we'll go from there. Okay?"

It took a while, but Sam finally relaxed against Jack and slowly nodded. It was another few minutes before Sam finally whispered, "When – not if."

Jack wasn't aware that he was actually holding the proverbial breath until he heard those words from Sam. Then, grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Jack kissed the top of Sam's head before once again relaxing against the tree they were leaning against.

It was another few minutes – minutes of comfortable silence, filled with thoughts of a hopefully happy future – until either of them started to talk again.

"So..." Jack started quietly – he didn't want to wake Caity after all – yet being unable to resist to kiss the top of Sam's had again.

"So..." she whispered, and though Jack couldn't see her face, he could hear the smile in her voice.

"What about Dixon?" Jack questioned.

"Yeah, he got those ideas into Caity's head," Sam answered.

"I think he had a camera too," Jack added thoughtfully.

"What!?" Sam shouted – well, as much as you can shout while actually whispering – and lifted her head off its comfortable resting place to look straight at Jack.

"Yep, I think he filmed everything," Jack replied, amused.

"Bastard."

Chuckling at Sam's response, Jack couldn't help himself but kiss her again. And again. Well, she was looking straight at him, that lips practically asking to be kissed and – to be fair – he _was_ only human after all.

"Well, I think we are safe. For now," Jack finally answered, being pretty sure that after his talk with Dave earlier this day he would at least keep the recording to himself until Sam was less vulnerable. Jack knew he could trust Dave in that respect

"Oh... good," Sam managed to reply eventually. Damn, Jack's kisses got more and more distracting and her mind seemed to need longer and longer to come back to reality – and they hadn't even reached the 'let's get our tongues involved'-stage yet!

"Sam?" Jack asked, clearly amused by her obvious distraction.

"Hmpf!" came the mumbled reply before Sam got comfortable on his shoulder again. At least that way Jack couldn't confuse her with more kisses. And she didn't even want to start thinking about his fingers lazily and probably unconsciously drawing little patterns on her bare arm. BAH!

"So? Any idea what to do with Dixon?" Jack asked again, smiling.

"Hm, I could complain to Janet how he compromised my pure, innocent daughter and persuade her to get the big needles for his next physical," Sam started.

"Nice! But he might be able to bribe her with the recording," Jack added thoughtfully.

"Right. Damn. I hadn't thought of that," Sam replied. "You think you could get him some missions with Felger?"

"Sneaky! I always knew I lo- liked you for a reason!" Jack answered, barely catching himself. Trying to cover it up, he continued, "How about Ne'tu?"

"Not bad. Unfortunately, the Tok'ra blew it up, remember?" Sam asked, truly getting into the spirit of finding a way to get back at Dave Dixon.

"Well, there's bound to be a New Ne'tu out there, somewhere!" Jack replied in mock-seriousness.

"Probably," Sam replied, chuckling. "Unfortunately, we are probably the ones to find it... ," Sam added with a sigh.

"How about Daniel, T and I find it and you come to our rescue?" Jack replied only half-jokingly. "Deal?"

"Deal." Sam replied, touched by his concern for her when only a few weeks ago she would more likely be somewhat offended by it. But so much had change since that call about the death of Aaron and Susan that it almost seemed to be a life-time ago.

"So, we stick with a few missions with Felger, then?" Jack asked to lighten the mood again.

"Yep, unless we can think of something else," Sam replied.

"So... do you really regret his interference?" Jack asked casually, though he didn't feel all that casual right now.

Taking a deep breath, Sam admitted quietly, "No, I'm not."

"Neither am I," Jack added just as quietly. "But we'll still stick with our plan, right?"

"Ya sure ya betcha!" Sam answered grinning.

"Hey, that's my line! And your absolutely right, no one obtains blackmail material on SG-1 without having to deal with the consequences," Jack exclaimed mischievously, grinning just as widely as Sam.

"Yep," Sam confirmed, moving slightly to get even more comfortable.

"So he's at least safe of becoming Goa'uld breakfast for the time being," Jack stated.

"Only if he behaves. But if those pictures get around the SGC he'll wish he could go and fight a whole Goa'uld army on his own!" Sam replied growling.

"I like your line of thinking!" Jack replied chuckling, but praying he'll never find himself at the receiving end of Sam's wrath.

"What's a 'gul'?" A sleepy voice suddenly interrupted Jack's train of thought and causing Sam to sit up straight. How was she going to explain to Caity that she wasn't supposed to hear that?

Gently getting Sam to relax again, guiding her head back to his shoulder, Jack looked directly at Caity who hadn't really moved since waking up though her eyes were open now, thinking of the best way to approach this.

"Okay, Caity. Now I'm going to tell you a secret which you can't tell anyone. It's just between you, your mom and me. Okay?" Jack started conspiratorially.

"Uh huh!" Caity replied, nodding enthusiastically. A secret just between her, her mom and her Uncle Jack! That was really cool!

"Well, you know how people give nicknames to other people or even things?" Jack asked.

"Like you and Uncle Jake calling me munchkin?" Caity replied.

"Exactly! And sometimes we give stuff other names so sneaky people don't know what we are talking about, right?" Seeing Caity nod, Jack continued, "You see, I really, _really_ don't like snakes and there are a lot of other people who don't like them either and someone came up with this name-"

"Gul?" Caity asked enthusiastically.

"Yep, 'gul'. So now we can say that we don't like snakes without hurting the feelings of those who actually like them," Jack finished, clearly proud of his explanation which wasn't too far from the truth either – Goa'uld were pretty much snake-like after all. "But remember, you can't tell anyone this name because it's a secret to most people, okay?"

"Okay!" Caity replied, finally getting up from her mommy's lap, stretching herself – causing Sam and Jack to smile - before asking Sam using her best puppy-dog eye impression, "Can I have a look at the pond please?"

"Yes, but don't get wet, okay?" Sam managed to reply, still too flabbergasted by Jack's explanation to say anything else.

"What?" Jack asked amused, finding himself at the receiving end of Sam's scrutinising glance. "I _do_ hate snakes, well, since we met the Goa'uld anyway..."

Shaking her head at him, Sam slowly started to smile. Leaning forward she gave him a quick kiss – which left him slightly stunned for once – thanking him for his explanation. They spent the next 20 minutes in silence, comfortably leaning against each other and contend to watch Caity discover their surroundings.

Sam and Jack might have chosen to stay silent, but Caity wasn't someone to investigate in silence. She talked to flowers, butterflies, the fishes in the pond – although she actually managed to stay dry, mostly – and everything else interesting that came across her path. And more than once did her behaviour bring a smile to both her mother's and Jack's face.

But when Caity was sitting cross-legged on the ground for a longer period of time, her back towards the two adults watching her, talking quietly to something both couldn't identify, Sam and Jack decided to investigate. Getting up quietly, both moved forward to where Caity was sitting until they were close enough to hear what Caity was saying.

"You know Fred, you've got a really nice home. Don't worry about Uncle Jack though, he might not like you but I don't mind being your friend. You know what's funny? Tammie says her daddy doesn't like snakes too. But I think they are just afraid of you and your friends. Grown-ups can be pretty weird like that, huh?"

After that Sam couldn't stop herself but laughing out loud.

"Mommy, look! Isn't Fred neat?" Caity asked, turning around after she heard her mommy laughing, pointing at the little snake in front of her.

"Fred?" Jack asked incredulously.

"You don't need to be afraid, Uncle Jack. Fred won't hurt you, see?" Caity said seriously, before gently lifting the snake of the ground.

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed. Ever since the Goa'uld he _really_ didn't like snakes. And that this one was small and therefore looking even more like one of the snake-heads didn't help either.

"But Fred doesn't hurt anyone! See, we've seen one just like Fred on the nature walk in Camp and Rebecca said they are probably more afraid of us then we of them. But you've gotta be careful cause some of Fred's cousins can make you really sick!" Caity explained, all the while letting the snake crawl along her arm.

"That is right," Sam started. "The little one here won't hurt anyone, still, you shouldn't just pick up any snake you find."

"Why not? I'm really careful with it, see? I won't hurt it," Caity replied.

"I know sweety, but the next one you find might not be nice like Fred but able to make you sick. And no one wants that, right?" Sam said firmly but gently.

"Okay mommy," Caity answered seriously.

"Good," Sam said relieved. Seeing her daughter thoughtfully looking at the snake, she continued, "What is it, Caity?"

Looking at Fred in her hand once more, Caity looked questioningly at Sam. "Mommy, can I take Fred home with me? I promise I'll really watch out for her and talk to her and feed her. Please?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam replied.

"Maybe I can give it to Tammie for her birthday? Cause she really likes snakes too!" Caity asked pleadingly.

Remembering what Caity said about Tammie's dad, Jack was just about to agree that this might be a good idea – even if it was just to get back at Dixon, when Sam intervened.

"Sorry Caity. What about Fred's family and friends? Don't you think they'll miss her when we just take Fred away? And won't Fred miss them as well?" Sam asked gently.

Damn. Looks like he wouldn't get that little revenge on Dixon anytime soon. Though he'll definitely remember this little info about Dixon's dislike of snakes for later references.

"S'pose," Caity quietly admitted, kneeling down to put the snake back down.

Sitting down next to her, Sam gently rubbed her daughter shoulders and was soon joined by Jack, sitting on Caity's others side.

"Bye Fred," Caity said as she released her newfound friend, a lonely tear running down her cheek.

Removing the tear with his thumb, Jack replied sincerely, "That was a very brave thing to do, Caity. Your Mom and I are very proud of you."

"Does that mean I can have some more cake now?" Caity asked sniffling.

"Well, you'll have to ask your mommy first," Jack replied laughing, ruffling Caity's hair. Seeing Sam smiling as well, he continued, albeit whispering into Caity's ear, "But if she says no we'll simply tickle her until she agrees, okay?"

"Yay!" Caity exclaimed happily before jumping up and running back to the food they brought with them.

The rest of the day went in a blur and far too soon they had to pack up and get back to Colorado Springs. The closer they came to the car, the more withdrawn Sam became as the last days events came back to hit her full force. Seeing her distress, Jack put his arm around her waist during the last few hundred meters and didn't even try to prevent her from sitting in the back of the car once again.

As soon as they reached Sam's house, Caity insisted that Jack should come and have dinner with them. Seeing the state Sam was in, Jack didn't resist and insisted on Caity spending time with Sam while he made them dinner.

Dinner itself was a relatively quiet occasion as – despite her midday nap – all the excitement once again caught up with Caity and she became more tired by the minute. Therefore, Sam didn't have any trouble of getting her ready for bed afterwards, although Caity insisted on Jack reading the good-night story in the living room while she was comfortably snuggled against her mother's chest.

Once Jack was finished, he offered to take Caity to bed as Sam couldn't possibly get up without waking Caity but Sam wasn't ready yet. Understanding her need to be close to Caity, Jack went to clean up the kitchen and to give Sam the privacy she needed and yet being there for her if necessary.

"You okay?" Jack asked quietly when he finally came back into the living room.

"I will be," Sam replied just as quietly.

"Good. Do you want me to take her?"

Nodding, Sam carefully let go of Caity, knowing she'd be safe in Jack's arms. Once Jack had her put in bed, Sam moved forward to tuck her daughter in, watching her for several minutes before she finally managed to leave the room.

"Hey, she's fine. Nothing is going to happen to her, okay?" Jack said gently once they were back in the living room.

"I know. It's just ..." Sam replied, sighing deeply.

"It's getting better, I promise," Jack tried to reassure her. And seeing her yawning for the second time since they left Caity's room he continued, "Why don't you go to bed as well. It's been a long day and an even longer week, huh?"

"I'm not tired," Sam protested, trying to stifle yet another yawn.

"Uh huh, and I really like snakes," Jack replied, remembering this afternoons episode fondly and receiving a small smile for his efforts.

"Well, maybe I am a little tired," Sam admitted.

"Okay, then I better leave you alone so you can go to bed and get some much needed sleep?" Jack asked. Seeing Sam's indecision mixed with something he identified as fear, he added, "Or I could sleep on your couch, in case you or Caity need something?"

"You wouldn't mind?" Sam asked, not looking at him to try to hide her relief at his offer.

"Of course not. I promised I'd help you through this and if that means a night – or more – on your couch I'll happily agree to that, okay?" Jack replied, rubbing Sam's arms slightly, causing her to finally look up at him again.

"Thanks," she simply replied, giving him a tiny smile that put him more at ease than anything else.

While Jack used the bathroom – he still had his overnight back from their night at the motel – Sam got him the things he'd need for the night. Once he was done, he came back to the living room, finding Sam staring out the window. Stepping behind her, he hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

After they were standing like that for a few minutes, Jack finally spoke up, "Come on, it's time for bed. I've got the feeling Caity will be too excited to be back home to let you sleep in."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sam replied, yawning once again, slowly moving away from him. When she reached the door, she turned around once more, "Good night. And thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, Sam. Now, have a good night and you know where to find me, right?" Jack replied.

Nodding, Sam turned and left for her bedroom.

Despite it having been a very long day indeed, Jack didn't feel that tired, so he decided to watch some TV. Settling comfortably on the couch, the TV turned on a hockey game re-run and its volume low enough as not to disturb anyone else, he let his mind drift to everything that happened that day and couldn't help but smile.

Yes, the interference of Dave Dixon might have been sneaky and all but he couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. For that, he'd be eternally thankful to Dixon. Of course, he wasn't going to tell him that. This would just be wrong. Nevertheless, today was one of the happiest days in his life.

Half an hour later he was still remembering the highlights of the day when he suddenly felt someone else watching him. And fair enough, when he looked up he found Sam standing in the entrance of the living room, looking sheepishly in his direction.

"Hey," Jack finally said, being the first to break the silence.

"Hey," was all Sam managed to reply.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked gently. "Can't sleep?"

"Uh huh."

"Wanna watch some TV?" Jack probed quietly, receiving only a shake of her head as reply. Switching the TV of, Jack got up and walked over to her. Seeing Sam rubbing her arms, he moved closer and continued just as gently, "You look cold, why don't you go back to bed?"

Jack was just wondering what else to say when Sam finally spoke up, though she talking so quietly that he could barely hear her.

"Come with me?"

* * *

_A/N: So, how about that? LOL...I'm so sorry about the recent lack of updates, but I've been experiencing a serious bout of writer's block! But thanks to all your great reviews for the last chapter (which I have to admit to have read several times :)) I finally managed to beat it back, HAH! Hope you like the result of it... Unfortunately I won't be able to write in the next 2 weeks but after that there shouldn't be anything (but work) to interfere with it. _

_BTW, something completely unrelated – what do you consider as normal room temperature at home? Because my current flatmates have a rather strange concept of that (well, to me anyway) and I am actually considering buying myself some fingerless gloves (and I hate gloves) so my hands won't turn blue while using my laptop (okay, it's not that bad yet – my room has 14 degree centigrade - but you get the drift)..._


	37. Chapter 37

**_Previously_**:

_"What's wrong?" Jack asked gently. "Can't sleep?"_

_"Uh huh."_

_"Wanna watch some TV?" Jack probed quietly, receiving only a shake of her head as reply. Switching the TV of, Jack got up and walked over to her. Seeing Sam rubbing her arms, he moved closer and continued just as gently, "You look cold, why don't you go back to bed?"_

_Jack was just wondering what else to say when Sam finally spoke up, though she was talking so quietly that he could barely hear her._

_"Come with me?"_

**Chapter 37**

Stopping mid-motion in surprise for a second, Jack quickly recovered and moved to hug Sam. As soon as he had his arms around her, he could hear Sam sniffling and rather felt than saw her burying her face in his shoulder.

Kissing the top of her head while rubbing her back, he just held her for a couple of minutes before he started to speak again.

"You see the pictures that this stupid snake put in your head as soon as you close your eyes." Jack probed gently.

Though Sam didn't reply with words Jack could feel her nod against his shoulder.

"You hate that this is making you feel helpless?"

Nod.

"You hate bursting into tears because of this?"

Nod. Sniff.

"You're afraid I'll consider you weak after the last couple of days?"

Nod.

"Even though I'd never do anything like that. You know that, right?"

Nothing.

"Sam?"

Sigh. Nod.

"You're wondering how can I possibly know all of this?"

Nod.

"And now you are so impressed that you want to write all my future mission reports."

No- _Punch_.

"Hey!"

Sniff. Giggle.

"Ahh. What did I say about giggling?" Jack said mock-seriously before adding gently, "Feeling better?"

"Thanks," Sam answered nodding, finally lifting her head off of Jack's shoulder and looking at him.

"Good," Jack replied, using his thumbs to remove the last tears from her cheeks. And while his hands cupped her head, he decided to not waste this and kissed Sam softly on the lips. "Come on, we better get some sleep before the munchkin decides it's time to get up."

Turning, Jack kept one of his arms around Sam's waist and slowly guided her towards her bedroom. When he felt her hesitating in front of Caity's room, Jack simply stopped, carefully opened the door to Caity's room and moved inside. The girl in question was oblivious of her surroundings, sleeping peacefully, the polar bear Fluffy – her favourite soft toy – securely tugged under her arm.

Hearing Sam sigh softly, Jack tightened his grip on her waist slightly and gently led her out of her daughter's room and towards Sam's bedroom.

Whoa! Sam's bedroom! In any other situation his blood would happily abandon his brain and rush down south by just thinking of that room. But as much as he would like to agree with this way of action, tonight was simply not the right time for that. All he wanted right now – and luckily his whole body agreed with him – was to hold Sam and help her sleep without nightmares.

So Jack was quite pleased that as soon as they got into her – rather comfortable and big – bed, Sam didn't hesitate to curl up against him and that the moment she seemed to have found a comfortable spot she was fast asleep.

Unfortunately, the nightmares weren't thinking of Sam's well-being all that much. While the night before Jack had managed to calm Sam without her ever waking up, it wasn't meant to be this time. So when she woke up shaking and crying Jack tried his best to sooth her. Even though Sam seemed to calm down fast, she couldn't go back to sleep again. She was about to get up and let at least Jack get some rest, when he interrupted her and moved away from her.

"Trust me. I'll be right back, okay?" Jack whispered and without even switching the light on – which resulted in a bruised shin and a sympathetic wince from Sam – Jack left the room. Only to come back a few minutes later with a sleeping Caity in his arms.

"Move over," he whispered as not to wake Caity.

As soon as he put her down, Caity instantly moved towards the body heat of her mom, curling up against her and with a sigh settled in a particularly comfortable place for some more sleep. Walking around the bed, Jack spooned up behind Sam, holding her to his chest and effectively sandwiching her between himself and Caity.

Sighing deeply and relaxing completely for the first time that night, Sam entangled her fingers with Jack's loosely on her hip resting hand and fell asleep almost immediately.

'Yes! Life is great,' was Jack's last thought before he joined Sam and Caity in the land of slumber.

xoxoxoxoxo

Next morning found a very comfortable but rather confused Caity waking up first in Sam's bedroom. She was lying halfway across her mummy's chest, head tucked safely under her chin and her body securely held in place by her mom's arm. That wasn't new to her though, as whenever she slept in the same bed as her mom she seemed to end up in just that position.

The thing was, she usually could remember falling asleep in her mom's arms or her at least her bed. But she could – even though only barely – remember falling asleep in the living room and Jack and her mommy tucking her in into her own bed. So how come she ended up here? Not that she minded, far from it, but it was still strange. But being a 7 year old girl, she didn't really see the need to ponder on it for long, instead she curiously watched her Uncle Jack sleeping just as peacefully as her mom.

She knew he had slept in their house before, in fact, he had fallen asleep in her room and the next morning they had lots of fun making breakfast while her mommy and her grandpa were still sleeping. Then there was this time, just after David's funeral, when her mommy went to Uncle Jack's house. After that he often came to visit them and stayed for dinner and stuff. And she really liked that. Maybe he could move in with them?

Furrowing her forehead in concentration, resting her chin on her folded forearms in a way she could watch both her mommy and Uncle Jack, Caity thought as hard as she could about all the 'grown-up stuff' she could remember being involved in living together.

Feeling himself being watched once again, Jack tried to decide whether to open his eyes or not. Being watched wasn't usually a good thing, then again, his head was resting next to Sam's, his body pressed to her side and her right hand entangled with his. So how could being watched be something bad right now? In the end his curiosity – though he'd always insist on it being his instinct on avoiding dangerous situations – won out and he opened his eyes to stare into Sam's.

Well, into eyes very similar to Sam's that is.

"Hey," he whispered, trying not to wake Sam.

"Hi," Caity replied just as quietly. "Mommy is still sleeping!"

"I know. Why don't you go back to sleep too? It's still early, you know," Jack tried to convince her.

"No-o! Not tired anymore!" Caity replied, shaking her head slightly.

"Are you sure?" Jack tried again.

"Uh huh!" Caity answered, grinning mischievously at Jack.

"Really?" Jack asked, wriggling his eye-brows.

"Yep," Caity replied giggling.

"Morning yet?" a groggy voice interrupted their little banter suddenly.

"Ops?" both Jack and Caity exclaimed, giggling. Well, Caity did all the giggling, Jack just got on his elbow, resting his head in his hand so he could actually look at Sam.

"Good morning," Jack whispered, bending down to kiss Sam.

"Good morning, mommy!" Caity added, copying Jack's gesture and never stopping her giggling.

"Urgh, it's too early," Sam mumbled, though Jack's kiss did help a lot in waking her body up, even if her mind was still half-asleep.

"Nope!" Caity exclaimed, jumping up and rushing to the window, opening the curtains to let the morning sun stream in. "See, the sun is shining already!" she continued, while climbing back into Sam's bed, squeezing herself in between the two adults.

"Nope, can't see no sun," Sam replied, eyes still closed.

"Cause your eyes are closed!" Caity replied exaggerated. And as her mommy didn't make any move to change that, Caity took matters in her own hands, prying her mommy's eyes open.

"Oy, that's bright," Sam winced, before looking into her daughter's laughing eyes. "Morning sunshine," she added, smiling one of those brilliant smiles Jack loved so much.

"Morning mommy," Caity repeated her earlier statement before shocking both adults with her next question.

"Is Uncle Jack going to live with us now?"

* * *

_A/N: Sorry about the shortness, but the evil voices (also known as 'Muse') made me stop here. But don't worry, I'm actually writing the next one already which will see the return of the other characters as well. Also, a big 'Thank you' for all those lovely reviews which really, really help and for your comments on the room temperature. Funny how you can adapt to everything, even a 14-15°C room. LOL._


	38. Chapter 38

_Previously:_

_"Morning mommy," Caity repeated her earlier statement before shocking both adults with her next question. _

_"Is Uncle Jack going to live with us now?"_

**Chapter 38**

While Jack was trying hard to not choke on his own saliva, Sam got away with just blushing furiously. Of course, as Jack was in no condition to answer that oh so innocent question and Caity was _her_ daughter after all, Sam replied, "Uhm... why?"

Oy. That was lame. Very lame. Still, it was the only thing Sam could come up with – and it was still better than Jack's coughing.

"D'oh! Cause that's what grown-ups do!" Caity answered in a 'that's a stupid question'-voice, rolling her eyes for effect.

"Oookay," Sam replied rather astonished by her daughters musings. Just how did she come up with this one in the first place? "I know a lot of ... grown-ups ... live together. But what makes you think Jack is going to live with us?" Sam continued curiously.

"Cause he calls grandpa 'dad' even though he isn't really his dad so Uncle Jack is going to marry you and people live together when they are married," Caity replied, rolling her eyes once again. Though she couldn't really understand why her mommy asked all these funny questions today. Maybe she was still tired?

Blushing once again – and remembering that faithful conversation when her dad visited them last time – Sam replied, "Remember, Jack already told you it's just like a nickname he gave your grandpa."

"But don't you like mommy a lot?" Caity asked Jack, sounding a little disappointed.

"Hey, of course I do," Jack reassured her.

"See? So what's the problem?" Caity asked, grinning mischievously at both her mommy and Uncle Jack.

Busted!

Both Sam and Jack were stunned. Looking at each other in astonishment they could read in each others eyes what both of them thought. They've just been outsmarted by a 7 year old girl.

"Okay, you got me there," Jack finally answered. "But just because two people like each other doesn't mean they start to live together," Jack added. "There are a lot of different kinds of liking each other, you know."

"But you are here often anyway," Caity answered defensively. "And when mommy doesn't look you look at her in the same weird way Uncle Jake does at Auntie Jocy and Dad did at Mom. And Uncle Jake says its a way of showing Auntie Jocy just how much he loves her."

Once again, the two seasoned soldiers that had faced so many atrocious things in their career were left speechless by the logics of a little girl. Not to mention both were blushing furiously again.

And yet, Caity was far from finished with them. Not that she was aware of what she was doing, but that just made it so much more effective!

"And you've been kissing an awful lot like Uncle Jake and Auntie Jocy since yesterday too!" Caity continued enthusiastically.

"Hey! It was to get your mom better faster, remember!" Jack argued. With a kid. Damn, he was really in trouble.

"Oh! Right," Caity answered. How could she have forgotten her mommy was hurt? But she looked much better now, so hopefully it had worked. But she had to be sure, so she turned to her mommy, asking her concerned, "Do you still hurt, mommy?"

"Nope. I'm much better," Sam replied smiling, glad to have escaped her daughters inquisitiveness.

"Sweet! But Uncle Jack can keep kissing you 'cause he really likes you and though it's yuckie grown-ups do that all the time!"

Or not. Oh boy, was she ever going to stop blushing today? Luckily Jack was just as red as her.

"Does he?" Sam couldn't help herself but ask. True, Jack just said so yesterday, but she really liked to know what made her daughter think so too.

"Uh huh. Grandpa Jacob told me. But he said it's a secret," Caity whispered conspiratorially before realising she just spilled that secret. "Ops?"

"Grandpa Jacob, huh?" Jack asked amused. Maybe he _was_ going to survive his next meeting with Jacob then!

"Yep," Caity nodded. "So, are you going to live with us now? 'Cause I'd really like that and you can sleep in mommy's bed and we can play lots and lots and you can tuck me in too and you can make us pancakes cause they are really yummie!" Caity added enthusiastically once again.

"It's not that easy, Caity," Sam finally replied, tucking an unruly strand of hair behind her daughter's ear.

"Why?" Caity asked somewhat disappointed. She really like Uncle Jack and maybe he could become her new daddy? Hm, she would really have to work on that. Maybe Tammie had some ideas and could help her out? Her parents were living together after all!

"We have to see if we really like each other that way first," Jack explained carefully.

"Oh," Caity said disappointed. Grown-ups could be really complicated! Maybe she should not only ask Tammie for help but Keenan too? He was always looking out for her after all – and he was almost a grown-up too, so he'd be able to help!

"But in order to do so, I have to be here quite often," Jack added, grinning impishly at her.

"Sweet!" Caity exclaimed. "Can we have breakfast now? Cause I'm really hungry!" And she truly was. All that thinking took a lot of energy that need to be refilled. Now. How else was she going to cause mischief throughout the day?

"Sure," Sam replied, relieved her daughter's curiosity seemed to be satisfied for now.

"Yay! Fruit loops!" Caity called out before scrambling out of bed and down towards the kitchen. It was Sunday after all.

xoxoxoxoxo

After the fairly interesting morning in bed the three of them shared a rather relaxed Sunday.

Caity – knowing how to wrap her Uncle Jack around her little finger and shamelessly _using_ this knowledge - insisted on Jack staying throughout the day. So the only time Jack wasn't with them was when he went home to get changed and put a fresh change of clothes in his trunk – just out of habit, you know.

During that time he also called Janet, reassuring her Sam was fine – relatively – and Janet didn't need to worry. Caity had everything under control, after all. Though he wasn't sure Janet was completely convinced after this last statement.

In the afternoon they went to the park to let Caity burn off some – well, a lot – of her excess energy while Sam and Jack enjoyed their newfound closeness, or rather their newfound ease in sharing and enjoying every bit of body contact they could justify. Including sharing lots of little kisses – only to help healing both Sam's physical and psychological wounds - of course.

Dinner was once again interesting, especially as Caity showed her rather impressive talent of eating heartily while still keeping on constantly talking. Jack couldn't help himself but smile at that, especially as Caity's gestures were so similar to her mom's – and she didn't mind using her food to emphasise some of the things she was talking about either.

After dinner they played a couple of board games for which Jack just _had_ to stay as well because you absolutely _needed_ three people to play properly. According to Caity anyway. Later on, while Sam was getting Caity ready for bed, Jack could hardly leave either – it would have been rather rude to leave without saying goodbye.

Also, according to Caity's logic her Uncle Jack – as he was there anyway - could just as well take her to bed after her mommy read the goodnight story in both their favourite rocking chair in the living room. It was just so comfortable to cuddle close to your mommy while slowly falling asleep and not having to worry about how you'd end up in bed! And that way her Uncle Jack could get some practice in tucking her in. Not that she would say that out loud, but that didn't mean she didn't thought so!

With Caity finally in bed Sam didn't know what to do next with Jack still around. But the more she thought about it the more she realised that Jack wouldn't push her in any direction and just accept whatever her decision would be. So in the end the decision wasn't that hard to make. Knowing -and more importantly - _accepting_ that she hadn't completely dealt with her last mission, she looked up at Jack who was patiently waiting at a point where he could either move on to the front door or the living room, a smile finally forming on her face and taking his hand she lead him into her living room.

They spent the rest of the evening watching some TV and much to Jack's delight Sam had decided early on that the most comfortable place to do that was cuddled close to him. This, of course, also made it much easier for him to steal the one or other kiss from her. Knowing she needed to be in control of that part of their slowly changing relationship, he didn't press on and was happy with just holding her. He had waited so long that giving Sam all the time she needed wasn't going to hurt him.

This time when it was time for them to go to bed there was no talk of Jack sleeping on the couch. And once in bed, both were asleep within minutes. Even though Sam was once again haunted by nightmares, Jack's presence – and a little peek in Caity's room – was enough to let Sam fall back in a fitful sleep.

xoxoxoxoxo

Monday morning came bright and early – and with the rather annoying sound of Sam's alarm clock. A weird sounding talking alarm clock.

"What the hell was that?" Jack groaned without showing any signs of loosening his hold on Sam anytime soon once she switched it off.

"My alarm," Sam answered rather amused by his reaction, not at all minding his arm around her waist and settling her head back on his chest.

"Nope. I might be half-asleep, but I know what an alarm clock is supposed to sound. And it's nothing like that ... that thing," Jack replied, rubbing his face with his hand.

"Caity chose it for me," Sam explained, enjoying the feel of Jack's heartbeat under her cheek.

"Caity, huh?"

"Yep."

"Good taste!" Jack replied seriously.

"Uh huh," Sam answered chuckling, turning around and resting her chin on her hands on Jack's chest. "Morning."

"You sure about that?" Jack all but whined.

"Yes. And we have to get up or we'll be late for work," Sam answered smiling before leaning forward and kissing Jack on the lips.

"Mmh. I like that," Jack replied, grabbing Sam as she was about to get up and kissing her again.

"I gathered that," Sam said smiling, "But I really have to get up and wake Caity."

"Spoilsport," Jack mumbled in reply, closing his eyes again.

Chuckling, Sam gave him another quick kiss before getting out of bed. Just as she reached the door she turned and said, "The coffee machine is on a timer and coffee should be finished right about now."

Jack muttered an incomprehensive reply but didn't show any signs of getting up. Shaking her head, Sam went to wake Caity – and only minutes later came back carrying a rather sleepy Caity in her arms. But as soon as she saw Jack her face lit up and she silently asked to be let down. Grinning mischievously at her mommy Caity, giggling softly, scrambled over to her apparently sleeping Uncle Jack – and went straight for his nose, using her fingers to squeeze it shut.

Expecting something or rather anything after hearing Caity's soft giggles, Jack grabbed her as soon as her fingers touched his nose and lifted her up above him, causing her to erupt in full laughter.

"Morning sunshine," Jack said, grinning up at her.

"Morning Uncle Jack!" Caity replied between laughs. "Kiss!"

Giving in to Caity's demand, Jack let her down again and gave her a morning kiss before shooing her out of bed and into the bathroom where Sam was already waiting for her. Sighing deeply, he finally got up as well even though he'd rather stay in bed all day – preferably with a certain blonde right beside him. But he just knew that wouldn't go down well with General Hammond – or with Sam for that matter. At least when they were supposed to work.

In any case, he couldn't complain about the way his day started – and he wouldn't mind for this to become a constant in his life. With that great thought Jack got his clothes together and went to the bathroom – the one for guests, mind you - too.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam, Jack and Caity managed to have breakfast without having to hurry too much and Jack left Sam to take Caity to her brother's house while he was driving directly to work. With a big grin on his face. And who could blame him? He had just spent the possibly best weekend in probably years!

Meanwhile Sam wasn't as happy as Jack, though it had nothing to do with the last weekend. She was rather dreading the talk she'd have to have with Janet and the possibility of facing a visit to the base shrink. Urgh. Also, she'd have to talk to Jake about the incident. To be fair, she knew this would help her cope further she just didn't feel like explaining everything over and over again. Maybe she could? Before even finishing that thought Sam pushed the appropriate buttons on her phone to call her brother.

As soon as she arrived on base Sam went straight to the infirmary, knowing anything else would just delay the inevitable – and wouldn't exactly bring Janet on her side. Taking another deep breath in front of the infirmary, Sam put on a – somewhat fake – cheerful face and entered, only to almost directly run into Janet.

"Morning," Sam greeted cheerfully. Sort of.

"Sam," Janet answered, carefully looking her over, "I was just about to call your lab."

"Yeah, sorry. Caity demanded some extra-time before I left at Jake's this morning," Sam explained.

Well, it was true, she spent some extra time Caity-cuddling at her brother's house, only it was her who had trouble to let go. And Caity, somehow sensing her mommy's need to hold on a bit longer hadn't minded at all and simply enjoyed the extra-attention.

"Uh huh," Janet replied suspiciously, not really buying Sam's cheerfulness but deciding to let it slide for now. "Okay, let's get you checked out then."

"Uhm – could we do the office-thing first?" Sam asked quietly.

"The office-thing?" Janet asked surprised.

"Oh, you know the thing were you ask question, I answer them, you scold me for not telling everything in the first place... " Sam replied somewhat flippantly.

"Spending much time with O'Neill lately?" Janet asked, raising her eyebrows – that went up even higher when Sam started to blush furiously.

Interesting. Janet knew the colonel was keeping an eye on Sam, he had even updated her once or twice, yet that blushing looked like a way more interesting story! But whatever it was, it had done Sam a hell of a lot of good as she looked way better than on Friday and definitely better than Janet had expected – and maybe feared.

Luckily Sam was spared to answer this particular question as at that point Jake arrived in the infirmary, moving straight towards Sam and engulfing her in a fierce hug, whispering, "You okay, kid?".

Who none of them saw was nurse Jenkins, who after watching them sleep on the same bed on Friday once again saw two people in an apparent loving relationship. Not wanting to be seen, she turned and retraced her steps, deciding it was time for some new input into the grapevine.

* * *

_A/N: Well, the chapter wasn't meant to end at this point, but it would just have been too long. Good news is that there should be another one before Christmas now! Anyway, thanks for the continuing great reviews – they help more than you can imagine. In fact, they are rather addicting so I **have** to keep writing to get more and more. LOL. I suppose you don't mind that particular addiction of mine though._


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Taking comfort in her brother's embrace, Sam only nodded in reply. Yes, she was okay – and was getting better by the minute.

"Sam?" Janet asked, although she was pretty sure why Jake came to her infirmary in that minute and not even being surprised to see his sister here.

Enjoying the safety of Jake's arms for one more minute Sam finally broke free, confirming Janet's suspicion.

"Yeah, I asked Jake to come. I just didn't feel like explaining things over and over again," Sam started before continuing a bit more unsure, "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, that's fine," Janet replied. "But we better move this to my office, okay?"

Nodding, both Sam and Jake followed Janet and sat down in the two chairs standing in front of her desk. Thinking it'd be easier to not have a barrier between them, Janet move her chair around the desk as well and sat down across from the two siblings.

Sam was playing nervously with the hem of her shirt, chewing on her bottom lip while trying to find the best way to start. She knew Janet would give her the time she needed but after 5 minutes of silence she could also sense her becoming slightly impatient. Because no matter how close they were, Janet had to run an infirmary after all.

Sam thought this was stupid, really. She'd been able to talk to Jack about it – without him even asking directly for it – and she felt much better already but she just didn't know how and where to start. Luckily Jake knew her all too well and him gently taking one of Sam's hands in his was all it needed for her to be able to start.

So she did. Starting with her thought's when she saw them coming for her in that motel in Stevenson. She didn't really care if her brother had the clearance for all the details of that mission, she just needed both of them to understand. And she didn't stop with the rescue operation, or the briefing, or the visit to the infirmary. No, she continued with her drive home – something she couldn't really remember – and Jack turning up at her doorstep, their drive to Camp Millcreek up until the next morning when they got Caity. _Minus_ the whole kissing story.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything when you asked me, Janet. But you would have kept me here and all I wanted – _needed_ – to do was to see Caity. No matter what," Sam finally finished, silently asking Janet for forgiveness.

Janet was caught between being the SGC's CMO who had been lied to and being Sam's friend – and more importantly a mother, who had not that long ago defied orders herself to save her daughter. So in the end it was an easy decision, she simply moved forward to give Sam a reassuring hug.

Yet Janet couldn't help herself and chide slightly, "I might have understood, you know?"

"But you'd have had to keep me here anyway, right?" Sam asked gently, glad her friend understood and had forgiven her already.

Sighing deeply, Janet nodded. Sam was right, there was no way she could have justified her early release from the infirmary. Which brought up a new problem. Sam _had_ lied to her and though she understood now their superiors – other than General Hammond - might not be as understanding. And there were just too many people out there who'd love to make Sam's life difficult.

"Sam, about the report... " Janet started, voicing her thoughts.

"I know," she replied quietly.

"What report?" Jake asked, still shocked about his sister's newest torture.

"Sam effectively lied to an – at that point – superior officer. And I have to report on how the symbiote really reacted to the antidote," Janet answered.

"Can't you just forget about it?" Jake asked.

"No, this is way to important to not mentioned it. There's quite a big difference between a few minutes and half an hour or more when it comes to being compromised by the Goa'uld," Janet explained.

"She's right, Jake. Janet has to change the report, even if she doesn't want to. It's way too important," Sam added.

"Crap," was all Jake replied. Seeing her sister getting into trouble – and knowing the military she probably would – was the last thing he wanted.

"Okay, here's what we are going to do," Janet started. "I'm going to talk to General Hammond, telling him just how long it really took for the symbiote to die. But I am also confident he'll understand your reasoning, Sam. And I am sure we can up with something close to the truth without getting you in trouble."

"Sounds great," Jake exclaimed. "But how are you going to do this?"

"I think between Sam's unique body chemistry and her still being in a bit of a shock when I first checked her out I can write my report in a way that both protects Sam and warns that others might react different to the antidote. Especially as they don't have the protein marker and naquada in their blood."

"And hence it might be longer until the antidote works for them?" Jake asked for clarification, seeing the hope in his sisters eyes that this might end better than she had feared.

"Exactly," Janet replied grinning.

"But do you really think General Hammond will agree to that?" Sam asked, still doubtful.

"Sam, one, General Hammond is a dad – and a granddad – for that matter and knows how far people will go for the safety of their children. Two, believe it or not, he _has_ a soft spot for you and would do all he can – and more - to help you," Janet explained.

"What!" Sam exclaimed shocked.

"Yep," Janet replied chuckling before becoming more serious again. "But don't be fooled. Even if he does agree to this way of action, he no doubt will have a serious word with you!"

"I guess I deserve it," Sam answered thoughtfully but also pleased how far Janet would go to help her.

"And I hope you'll remember it in the future!" Janet replied sternly.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. I think now that we've cleared this up it's time for your full physical," Janet said, standing up and moving towards the door.

"Full physical?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Of course, how else can I be sure all the effects of the Goa'uld have been gone? I have no reference material from other people treated with the antidote that have this particular protein marker and naquada in their blood, after all," Janet added, smiling evilly.

Jake, always there to protect his sister, was about to intervene when he made the mistake to look Janet directly in the eyes. Swallowing hard and paling slightly Jake decided his sister might have to get out of this on her own – or just live with it. After all, Janet was her best friend so she wouldn't really subject her to any unnecessary testing, right? And her argument did made some sense too, right?

Besides, he heard stories about really big needles and that look in Janet's eyes clearly implored he'd be the next one to add to those stories – if he decided to interfere. And he _really_ didn't like needles. Actually, he even was _allergic_ to them – or so he told everyone and his sister would clearly understand, right? She wouldn't want him to suffer an allergic reaction, right?

So instead of saying anything to Janet, Jake closed the short distance between him and his sister and hugged her again, whispering encouragingly, "You'll do fine!"

"Coward!" Sam replied just as quiet, having read his previous thoughts clearly on his face.

Almost choking, Jake had at least the decency to blush slightly before giving Sam a final squeeze and hastily moving towards the door. Just as he passed Janet he heard another, good natured, "Coward!" - only this time it came from Janet.

Well, at least it sounded like his sister would be alright. And he could live with a bit of a humiliation as a price for that.

xoxoxoxoxo

Jake hadn't even reached his lab after leaving the infirmary when he literally run into Dave Dixon, who started to grin mischievously as soon as he recognised who had just tried to run him over.

"Whoa! Slow down, Jake," Dave exclaimed. "Besides, I've been looking for you. Got something to show you."

"Oh sorry, I didn't look where I was going," Jake replied embarrassed.

"Who are you running from anyway?" Dave asked curiously.

"Huh? I'm not running from anyone," Jake defended himself. Although even he had to admit it was quite lame.

"Whatever," Dave answered, clearly more interested in what he wanted to show Jake than in why or who he was running from. If Dave would have been a woman, this behaviour would clearly have been classified as a desperate need to share the latest gossip. But he was a man. A manly man. So he just wanted to share his knowledge. "Got a few minutes?"

"Sure," Jake asked, wondering what Dave wanted to show him. That guy was practically beaming with excitement! "Let's go to my lab, we should be alone for while there."

Roughly 15 minutes later Jake could understand Dave's behaviour. Kind of. Though knowing the SGC's grapevine, Jake wondered why nobody else seemed to have seen that video, yet. Dave could probably make a fortune among the people of the SGC with that one!

"How come you backed and even goaded Caity into making Jack kiss my little sister. Repeatedly," Jake asked sternly.

To be fair, he knew a relationship between Jack and Sam was only a matter of time and he was fine with it. And having seen his sister both on Friday and today, he knew whatever Jack did – and going by the video it involved quite a lot of kissing - it helped his sister immensely. So he wasn't really mad at Dave, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun with him. He had to get some of his pride back, after all.

"Oh come on! Those two are meant to be together. They are just too blind and need a bit of help to see it," Dave defended himself good naturedly.

"Playing matchmaker, huh?" Jake replied, unable to stay serious any longer.

"No, no, no, no, no! I'm just helping two friends," Dave answered hastily. Matchmaking sounds so ... definitely not masculine.

"So why hasn't everyone else seen this video? As far as I understand this place, a lot of people made bets on if and when Sam and Jack finally manage to get their act together?" Jake asked curiously, actually being relieved that it hadn't shown up yet. Maybe he could convince Dave to hold onto it for a little while longer?

"Jack asked me not to. Besides, I might be ignorant at times but even I can see that Sam's life is going through a lot of changes lately," Dave explained. Receiving a nod from Jake, he continued carefully, "I'm not sure, but I suppose Caity is one of them?"

Sighing deeply, Jake finally answered, "Yeah. But it's way more complicated than that."

"I figured something like that. Just tell me if I go to far but I think Caity hasn't lived with Sam until recently?" Dave started. Receiving neither confirmation nor being told to stop, Dave continued, "Knowing Sam – and having seen Sam and Caity together – I guess it has nothing to do with Sam not wanting to live with her daughter, right?"

"Unfortunately," Jake replied sadly.

"That bad?" Dave couldn't help himself but ask.

"Worse," Jake replied quietly.

"Ouch," Dave winced.

After a couple of minutes of silence Jake sighed loudly to move his own dark thoughts away, before starting to talk again. "So you'll keep the video to yourself, at least for a while?"

"Yeah. I won't say anything," Dave answered seriously before adding on a more lighter note, "Though I might need it to bribe the Doc in being nice to me."

Remembering his earlier encounter with Janet, Jake could only agree with him – and so he did.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Sam was still at the mercy of Janet. Luckily, Janet didn't really held a grudge with her so she was gentle – even if she _was_ rather thoroughly. But Sam could live with that. Finally though, after what felt like hours of prodding, blood drawing and the like, Janet announced that she was finished – for now.

Sam was just about to finish dressing again, when she heard the unmistakable footsteps of a certain colonel closing in on her and sure enough, only seconds later he called out, "Knock, knock. You decent, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. Come on in," Sam replied. Well, they were on base so no matter how close they might have become over the last few days, he was still and would always be 'sir' at work.

"So, has the Doc finally released you from her clutches?" Jack asked flippantly.

"Yep. I think she couldn't think of any other test to do on me," Sam replied smiling.

"That bad?" Jack asked, wincing in sympathy.

"Well, it could have been worse, I guess. After all, I'm still alive and free to go," Sam answered.

"Sweet. So I don't even have to smuggle you out of here?" Jack asked, winking at Sam.

"Nope," Sam replied grinning right back at him.

"You're really okay, right?" Jack asked more seriously.

"Yes. I am," Sam answered sincerely. "Thanks to you," she added quietly.

"C'mere," Jack whispered, hugging Sam tightly.

Melting into his embrace, Sam truly felt okay. Though she might have dreaded it, the talk with Janet and Jake had helped too, not to mention Janet's plan of getting her out of – or rather not into – trouble.

Enjoying the feel of Sam in his embrace, Jack decided that though they might be on base he could get away with a little stolen kiss – or two. There were no cameras in that little curtained off area after all. And feeling Sam responding immediately didn't exactly make it feel wrong either.

Both officers were so enthralled in there private little party that neither of them saw the bright light that suddenly filled the little cubicle they were in. Though they did jump apart, blushing brightly, as soon as they felt another presence with them, who also decided to choose that moment to start talking.

"Uhm... hey guys. Did I miss something?"

* * *

_A/N: Ha! Just like I promised, another little chapter before Xmas! To be honest, I have to thank the Xmas fog over London for causing the delay BUT not the cancelling of my flight home (and my laptop batteries) as this whole chapter and part of the next one were written at diverse airports :). So, Happy Holidays to everyone and a very special Thank you to all my faithful reviewers! _


	40. Chapter 40

_Previously:_

_"Uhm... hey guys. Did I miss something?"_

**Chapter 40**

"Daniel!" Sam cried out happily, quickly followed by a heartily, "Spacemonkey!" from Jack.

Not waiting for a reply, Sam quickly moved around the bed where Daniel had suddenly appeared, hugging him tightly. Jack, being happy enough to just watch that display of affection, decided to reply to Daniel's question – and have a little fun. Hey, he just had to safe the world again and get himself killed and all of them truly worried about him so he deserved a little payback. Right?

"Oooh, just a few things, Danny-boy. There's birthdays, engagement party, Christmas party, the wedding, the birth of our daughter – Maggie – who Janet is just checking out, some more birthdays. All in all, just the usual," Jack said casually.

"Wha-!" Daniel replied, staring open-mouthed between both Sam and Jack.

Finally registering the tucking at the corners of Sam's mouth, Daniel suddenly remembered his open mouth and looked accusingly at Jack.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel said disapprovingly.

"Daniel," Jack replied smugly.

Sam, feeling sorry for Daniel, finally replied, "Don't listen to him, you've only be away for two weeks – which was way too long as it is, though."

"Hey!" Jack said to Sam, poking her in the rips. "I'm still the higher ranking officer here!"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied, snapping at attention before breaking into one of her special 1000-Watt smiles.

"Smart-ass!" Jack answered grudgingly, although he grinned as well.

"See, nothing has changed at all," Sam said impishly to Daniel.

"Uh oh, what about the ... you know?" Daniel pointed out.

"You've seen nothing. You were probably hallucinating or something," Jack was quick to reply.

"Ahh! So that _is_ indeed new!" Daniel replied grinning.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack finally admitted, rolling his eyes before adding seriously, "Just keep it to yourself okay? I'll explain later. But now – _DOC, your new needle cushion has arrived_!" Jack finished, shouting the last bit towards the general direction in which he had last seen Janet.

It took less than a minute until they could hear the unmistakeable and fast approaching steps of Janet coming closer.

"Colonel? So you're volunteering?" Janet started cheerfully before she even entered the still curtained off area. "I'd never thought this day-" Janet continued, but as soon as she entered the cubicle she forgot what she wanted to say and just stared open-mouthed at the rather unexpected third occupant of the cubicle.

Then, as she registered just what had happened she quickly moved around the bed, more or less shoved Sam out of the way, yanked Daniel down to her height by the front of his shirt and placed an in no way innocent kiss on his mouth. Daniel, completely surprised by her actions, tried to say something and hence giving Janet the opportunity to push her tongue past the barrier of his lips and teeth into his mouth where she frantically fought with Daniel's suddenly alive tongue for dominance.

As soon as Daniel's brain caught up with his tongue Janet broke the kiss and punched him in his shoulder. Hard.

"I swear, if you ever _ever_ pull anything like that again and try to die on me I'll make sure you'll regret it for the rest of your life – or death!" Janet said quietly – which in that case sounded much more dangerously than if she'd have yelled at Daniel – and added sternly, "Did I make myself clear?"

The only reply Daniel was able to was to nod. He was way too shocked by Janet's behaviour even though his body seemed to have enjoyed itself.

"Good," Janet replied, taking a deep breath. She hadn't planned anything like that, but as she saw Daniel standing there, looking somewhat sheepishly at her, she had stopped thinking and just acted – and also surprised herself with her own actions. Pushing these thoughts aside – she would have to ponder them at a more appropriate time – she continued in her professional voice, "I'll send a nurse with a gown for you to change into and then you can prepare yourself for a full physical!"

Hearing several chokes, Janet looked up and in three more or less shocked faces. Jack, having recovered first, raised his eyebrows questioningly, grinning back at Janet.

"Oh get your minds out of the gutter," Janet murmured, though blushing like everyone else. Nevertheless, rolling her eyes, she turned when she reached the curtain once again and smiled sweetly at Jack and Sam and continued, "Oh, anyone else still being here when I return can get ready for a full physical too – no matter what!"

"Well, have fun, Spacemonkey," Jack said quickly, giving Daniel an encouraging slap on the shoulder, smirking at his friend. "We better leave you and the Doc alone!"

Daniel, still shocked, just nodded and accepted Sam's hug and after a final squeeze and kiss on his cheek Sam was gone too. One physical per day was more than enough, thank you very much.

"Whoa! I've only seen Doc that mad once," Jack said clearly impressed – referring to Janet's verbal attack at Daniel - once he and Sam had retreated to safer ground outside the infirmary.

"When Cassie was ill and she threatened to shoot Nirrti," Sam added matter of factly.

"Yep," Jack started, before adding smirking, "Did you know ... you know?"

"That Daniel's latest escapade effected Janet that much?" Sam tried to clarify and after receiving a nod from Jack she continued, "No, I had no idea." Laughing out loud humourlessly she added, "Shows how good of a friend I really am, doesn't it?"

"Hey, don't do that to yourself," Jack replied, wanting nothing more than to hug her again. But considering them being in the middle of one of the SGC's busier corridors it didn't seem advisable. Instead, he opted for the less obvious supportive squeezing of her shoulder. "You've been through so much lately, Janet will understand." Jack continued before adding with waggling eyebrows, "Well, you should have one of those woman-thingies and get all the details... "

Snorting at that, Sam asked amused, "Woman thingies?"

"Well, you know ... wine, playing with all those creams and stuff and talking about, well, men..." Jack replied slightly uncomfortable. A couple of months ago he wouldn't even have dreamed of having this kind of conversation with Sam, but a lot had change since then. "And I'd be happy to watch Caity for you. I'm free tonight, you know."

"Eager much, _sir_?" Sam answered, smiling broadly. Who'd have thought Jack was this _interested_.

Deciding a tactical retreat was in order, Jack ignored Sam's last comment and said, "I guess I better go and tell Hammond about the return of our wayward resident archaeologist."

"Nice try, sir," Sam replied smirking, before adding "I'll go and tell Teal'c." And just to be sure, she gave him _that_ smile – knowing she could get away with almost anything when she smiled like that – especially after she learned about the little competition between her brother and Jack to see who could make her smile more. She really should be mad at them, but considering the circumstances she was actually glad they had started that foolish little game – because if she was able to smile again than it must mean she was getting her life back under control.

xoxoxoxoxo

After interrupting Teal'c's training session with some new recruits Sam was once again wandering the corridors of the SGC. Teal'c had stoically listen to Sam's news but broke into a genuine smile once she was finished. Of course, he looked just as impassive as always when he turned back to his students, he had an image to live up to after all.

Sam hadn't even left the gym when he was already giving new instructions to his students. Smiling at that memory, Sam's thoughts where suddenly rudely interrupted.

"Hey, Carter! You look like you had a great weekend! I suppose everything is healed up nicely?"

Groaning, Sam looked up and straight into the grinning face of Dave Dixon. Though when he started to wriggle his eyebrows at her, she couldn't help herself and grinned back at him. And as they were alone right now, she decided to have some fun of her own – without answering his question.

"I hope you don't mind, but Caity already found the perfect birthday present for Tammie," Sam started, smiling innocently at him.

"Really?" Dave answered cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Was she getting back at him for his interference on Saturday or was she genuinely talking about his daughter's birthday? Then again, it was Carter in front of him so he should be safe, right? Jack was the one he would have to watch out for, right?

"Yep," Sam simply stated, never loosing her smile.

"What is it, if I may ask?" Dave replied, getting slightly nervous by that now way too innocent looking smile.

"Oh, nothing special," Sam started. "It's a Fred," she continued in way of explaining.

"F.R.E.D as in Field Remote Expeditionary Device?" Dave asked confused.

Snickering, Sam hadn't even thought of that one, she answered, "No. Caity just named it Fred."

"Caity named it?" Dave asked alarmed. Going by his own kids, kids mostly named living things. Living things they brought home and wanted to keep. But Carter surely wouldn't refer to anything like that, right?

"Oh yeah," Sam started again, fighting hard to not break out laughing. The slowly developing panic on Dixon's face was almost too much for her to keep her composure. "You'll love it. Fred is such a beautiful little snake... ."

"Whoa!" Dave exclaimed, eyes bulging out.

Seeing his shock, Sam couldn't stop herself from laughing anymore – even if he _was_ a superior officer. She just wished she had a camera to catch his look when she mentioned the snake. Jack would surely have appreciated it.

"You are evil. Purely evil," Dave said, having recovered from the initial shock.

Seems like he was wrong with all his previous assumptions. He wouldn't just have look out for Jack but for Carter as well. But now that he knew this he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Then, remembering Carter's recent run-in with the Goa'uld and what he had learned while talking to Jake earlier, he grinned back at her. Because she looked much better laughing, like she was now, than having that haunted look he had seen on Friday and, to a lesser extend, on Saturday.

"You really got me here," he finally admitted, still grinning.

"Well, Caity really found a snake, named it Fred and wanted to take it home to give it Tammie as a birthday present. Because, apparently, Tammie really likes snakes too," Sam explained, smiling fondly at the memory.

"But she didn't take Fred home, right?" Dave asked, just to be sure of course.

Taking her time – it was just way to much fun to watch Dave squirm - Sam finally replied, "No. I told her Fred would be missing its family so we left the snake where Caity found it."

"Good," Dave replied relieved, releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding. Then another thought crossed his mind. "How did you know I don't like snakes?"

"Sorry, but that's classified," Sam replied matter of factly, adding, "See you later, sir."

"Uhm... sure," Dave replied, still thinking about his last question. At least he seemed to be safe from any unwanted living snake presents. Shuddering, he turned and left for his office. Somehow paperwork suddenly didn't sound all that bad.

xoxoxoxoxo

Still grinning Sam arrived at her brother's lab only a few minutes later. Seeing him apparently alone, she moved over to him to give him a hearty hug and kissing him as well. She couldn't help it, she just felt happy. First Daniel's return and then her little payback at Dave's expenses.

Neither she nor her brother saw one of Jake's co-workers walking by and almost running into the next wall after observing Sam's showing of affection towards that new scientist. Now if that wasn't interesting! Abandoning his original mission, Dr. Pullman didn't seem to have time to talk to him anyway, he turned and went to see his friends next door. These observations of his had to be discussed after all.

"Hey! What's up?" Jake asked once Sam released him from her hug. "Who or what put you in that good mood and can I have a bottle of it?"

"Daniel is back!" Sam all but burst out happily.

"Really?" Jake asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah! And he looks great!" Sam answered, before involuntary shuddering, looking down and adding more sedate, "So much better than the last time we saw him on Thor's ship."

"I can imagine," Jake replied, gently lifting Sam's head to face him again, adding, "And I'm really glad that he's back too."

And he truly was. He really started to like him, despite the obvious problems Daniel had with Sam after learning she had a daughter. But those animosities were long gone and after talking to Sam he could understand were Daniel was coming from and, hence, was able to forgive him.

"Well, silly me, when I saw you coming in like that I first thought it had all and everything to do with a certain Colonel. A Colonel I need to have a serious word with at that," Jake teased his sister, though he also wanted to bring her out of her dark thoughts.

"Huh?" Sam replied confused before everything fell in place – something Jake could easily read in her rapidly changing expression. Finally, her blushing clearly showed that she reached a conclusion. "Dixon!" Sam growled, looking at her brother accusingly.

"Hey," he replied, holding his hands up in defence, "I was just standing here, minding my own business when Dave came charging in, shoving a camera in my face," Jake added. Well, judging by the look on his sisters face he _did_ manage to change her focus. But it also suddenly seemed advisable to exaggerated a bit to keep his own skin safe. Just in case. "And it wouldn't be polite to just throw him out of the lab when he just wanted to help, right?"

Looking at him suspiciously, Sam finally consented. Sighing deeply, she nodded – and suddenly started to grin. Now that _did_ start to worry Jake.

"Sa-am?" he asked worriedly – though not for his sister but for himself.

"Yes, Jake?" Sam replied innocently.

"Uhm... you suddenly kinda have me worried here," Jake admitted.

"Really?" Sam asked in mock surprise.

"Uh huh," Jake started, "that expression on your face kinda reminds me of when I accidentally – and only temporarily I must add - lost your Major Matt Mason figure. I still don't know _how_ you did what you did after that!"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Sam replied sweetly. "Besides, I just wanted to know what you think about the Keenan and Cassie bit on Dixon's tape..."

* * *

_A/N: Argh! After a rather long absence Muse sneaked in unnoticed and added all those unplanned things! Like Janet and Daniel. Bah! Anyway, as always a great "Thank you!" to all those who sent reviews, even if it was just a little reminder of just how long ago the last update had been (and anonymous flames were used to light Teal'c's candles...). _


	41. Chapter 41

_Previously:_

_"I don't know what you are talking about," Sam replied sweetly. "Besides, I just wanted to know what you think about the Keenan and Cassie bit on Dixon's tape..."_

**Chapter 41**

"Keenan and Cassie?" Jake asked cautiously because he couldn't remember them being mentioned on the video Dave just showed him.

"Uh huh," Sam confirmed without really revealing anything.

"Should I be worried?" Jake continued.

"Well," Sam started before an evil thought crossed her mind, "Depends on when you intend to becoming a grandpa..."

"Wha- !" Jake all but shouted.

Snickering, Sam started, "Just kidding. Though according to Caity, Keenan started to kiss Cassie all better when she hurt herself and apparently never stopped since." Seeing her brothers disbelieving look, she added amused, "Well, the last part is my interpretation."

"But Keenan is just a kid!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah," Sam replied grinning. "A 15-year old kid, filled to the rim with hormones."

"No, he's- " Jake started before sighing theatrically, "Damn. You're right."

"As if that's something new," Sam retorted mischievously.

"Smart-ass!" Jake answered, shaking his head in mock disbelieve.

"You're just jealous of my superior mind," Sam laughed, quickly bringing a table between herself and her brother when he went after her. Once in safety, she continued "Well, there were definitely some sparks flying the first time the two met on the day you moved into your new house."

Sighing once again, Jack said, "And of course he had to choose the only true alien teenager around."

"That's not a problem for you, is it?" Sam asked, suddenly serious.

"No, Sam. You trust Cassie with Caity and that's more than enough proof for me that she is be a great girl," Jake reassured his sister. "It's just that it only seems like yesterday since I changed his diapers-"

"_You_ changed his diapers?" Sam couldn't help but interrupt snorting.

"- _occasionally_," Jake continued, looking disapprovingly at his sister, "and suddenly he's almost grown up and getting himself a girlfriend."

"That's life." Sam stated unimpressed.

"Yeah, yeah. You just wait till Caity hits her teenage years and starts dating," Jake added good natured.

"Nah, she won't be doing this until she's well over 30," Sam replied defiantly.

"Uh huh," Jake started. "But let's ignore our children's love life for a second and concentrate on yours instead."

"Dunno what you're talking about," Sam replied innocently.

"Dave just left, remember?" Jake answered amused.

"Oh. Right."

"So-o. Spill," Jake started, but getting no response he continued evilly, "Or shall we just forgo this conversation and I'll go and find Jack, tell him to keep his hands off my little sister, or else?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed – and blushed heavily upon her strong reaction. Taking a deep breath - half-heartedly cursing her brother for winding her up - she started once more, "No, you won't."

"Because?" Jake prompted.

Taking another deep breath, Sam continued, "Because I care deeply for him."

"Care deeply, huh?" Jake grinned.

"Oh shut up!" Sam exclaimed half unnerved, half laughing. "All I know is that I haven't spent a night without him since Friday. He's making me feel safe, even if there's still the occasional nightmare. I don't know what I'd have done without him through the last days. Or months," she admitted quietly.

"Does he know?"

"Yes," Sam sighed. "I think."

"But you haven't told him," Jake stated. Jeez, looks like somebody should just throw the two into a room and loose the key for a while! One thing he learnt during his time at the SGC was that everyone – including George Hammond - expected them to be together – for years now. Or at least jump each other as soon as the regulations didn't apply to them anymore. Why else were there so many betting pools around? Of course, quite a few people got confused by his relationship with his sister, which never failed to amuse him, but the majority were just waiting for Sam's and Jack's wedding announcement. Or at least something like that. Well, looks like his brotherly interference was more than needed!

"Well ... I ... no," Sam finally admitted miserably. Why was it so difficult for her to do just that?

Okay, seems like it's time for another weapon, Jake thought. "You know that Caity adores him, even loves him. And if I'm not mistaken Jack does feel the same about Caity."

"I know," Sam replied smiling. Jake was absolutely right with this observation, Jack loved her daughter.

"So, what's the problem?" Jake asked, because Caity, really, was the main reason to keep Sam away from Jack that he could think of.

"I ... I don't know," Sam replied, chewing on her lower lip in deep thought. Her brother _was_ right, the only reason to keep her from pursuing a relationship with Jack was her focusing on Caity and her needs, not wanting her daughter to suffer from her mothers love life. Or at least that's what she told herself over and over again. Because as Jake just pointed out so nicely, her daughter loved Jack and already had him wrapped around her little finger. And Jack would never do anything causing Caity to suffer from his potential relationship with Sam. Sighing, Sam finally continued, "Jack already promised to always be there for both me and Caity."

"Then what's the problem?" Jake quipped. This actually looked better than he had feared.

"Hey!" Sam replied, punching him playfully in the arm. "As my big brother you are supposed to keep the boys away from me – not throw them at me!"

"Well, what can I say. Jack has kinda grown on me and I don't feel like breaking another potential candidate in," Jake stated grinning.

"Men," Sam grumbled.

"Your point being?" Jake asked innocently.

Instead of answering, Sam just punched her brother again. Hard.

"Ow! Hey!" Jake exclaimed. "I'm just trying to help, you know?"

"Uh huh," Sam answered unconvinced before confessing, "Jack already told me he's ready for more – whenever I am ready as well."

"So, no mind-blowing sex, yet?" Jake couldn't help himself but add – even if it seemed rather suicidal.

"Jake!" Sam shrieked flabbergasted, blushing once again, being way too shocked to cause any physical damage to her brother.

"What?" Jake asked innocently. "I just want my little sister to be happy. And if I have to accept that this involves sex, well, it might just as well be mind-blowing. Right?"

Groaning, Sam just covert her face with her hands, wishing for nothing else but to vanish into thin air. Or sink through the floor. To be honest, she wouldn't really mind either way. Sometimes Jake was just a big pain in the ass. But she loved him anyway – and he gave her a lot to think about too. However, right now she couldn't take anymore of her brother's verbal surprises so she shot him one last disapproving look – which didn't seem to bother Jake at all – before leaving for the sanctuary of her own lab. Though just as she went out the door, she turned once more, smiling brilliantly at him, saying, "Thanks."

xoxoxoxoxo

Once Sam was gone Jake tried to concentrate on his work but found his mind wandering off into several directions at once. Finally, when he had to ask his co-worker to repeat his explanation on one of their projects for the third time in a row, he decided to take a break and follow up at least one of the things on his mind. So, re-scheduling the meeting for later in the afternoon – and going by the badly covered sigh of relief from his co-worker he was quite happy with that too – Jake apologised once again and left his lab.

Not really thinking about where he was going, he had two possible targets on his mind after all, he finally found himself in front of the infirmary and shrugged his shoulders. Apparently his subconscious mind had made the decision for him so he ended up entering the infirmary for the second time this day.

Looking around he didn't find who he was looking for but saw Janet sitting on her desk through her open office door.

Knocking on the door frame, Jake asked, "Janet?"

"What?" Janet, having been caught in deep thought – and rather private ones at that - snapped annoyed. Recognising Jake and seeing his raised eyebrows she quickly apologised and added more cheerful, "Sorry, Jake. I was just thinking. What can I do for you?"

"Sam told me rather excitedly Daniel is back, looking healthy and all and that you wanted to check him out. So I was wondering if he's still around?" Jake asked.

"Uhm," Janet started, blushing brightly at the memory of her discovery of Daniel's return - and Jake's choice of words didn't help either – and after taking a deep breath continued more steady, "Yeah, he's in Iso-room 1 to give him some privacy but also the possibility to be de-briefed while we wait for his test results to come back."

Wondering about Janet's blushing, but deciding it must have something to do with him catching her off-guard, Jake asked, "Is he alright? Do you think I could talk to him for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, sure. General Hammond is due to come by in half an hour but he should be alone right now," Janet replied hastily, glad to see him go and have a few more minutes for herself to gather her thoughts before it was time to see Daniel again. That physical sure had been an interesting experience – for the both of them.

"Thanks," Jake replied, adding while smiling mischievously at Janet, "You want me to close the door?"

Blushing, again, and too embarrassed to talk Janet just nodded, causing Jake to chuckle – and closing the door.

Reaching Iso-room 1, Jake knocked and upon hearing Daniel's "Yeah?" entered the room, making sure to close the door behind him again.

"Jake! Hi," Daniel said slightly confused, having expected to rather see Teal'c or even worse – after Janet's kiss anyway – Jack.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Jake asked.

"Good, thanks," Daniel replied, still not knowing what to make of Jake's visit. True, they got along quite well but something in Jake's eyes told him this wasn't just a 'Welcome back' visit.

"That's good to hear. You know, Sam came basically squealing into my lab to tell me about your return," Jake said, smiling fondly at that memory.

"Oh," Daniel started. "That's good, I guess."

"Yes it is. I'm always happy if Sam's happy," Jake added nonchalantly.

"Me too," Daniel replied, more confused than ever – and even forgetting Janet for a moment.

"Good."

"But-?" Daniel prompted carefully, wondering what Jake had on his mind.

"But she was rather devastated when you decided to get yourself contaminated with a deadly dose of radiation and she had to watch you deteriorate by the minute," Jake chided calmly.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly fun for me either!" Daniel replied, annoyed that he apparently had to defend his actions to safe a lot of people.

"I know, I know. I was there, remember?" Jake asked. Not waiting for an answer he continued, "But we aren't talking about you right now but Sam."

"Huh?" Daniel asked as confused as at the beginning.

"Do you have any idea how much it hurt her to see you slowly die?" Jake started – and not so calmly as before, continued all the while he was talking himself into a rage, "Don't you think she had suffered enough throughout the last couple of month? Being kidnapped and treated as human lab-rat while not knowing if she'd ever see her daughter again? Having to bury good friends of her who helped her to keep her daughter safe? Having to find a way to divert the Goa'uld made asteroid in order to safe her daughter from certain death? Learning about her son's fate and then having to bury him? Don't you think she deserves a little rest without having to worry about you as well? Not to mention that bastard snakehead that decided to mess around with her mind, having her watch _both_ her children die over and over again?" Taking a deep breath, Jake finished quietly, "Do you really think she deserves to watch you – who she considers to be her brother and who she loves as such – die as well?"

"I didn't think-" Daniel started, shell-shocked by Jake's outbreak. And what was that about the Goa'uld messing with Sam's head?

"That's correct. You didn't think!" Jake exclaimed angrily, adding sarcastically, "Why didn't you use that oh so often cited super-brain of yours when it really mattered?"

"I-," Daniel started again, still flabbergasted by Jake's behaviour.

"And just because you're family doesn't mean I won't beat you black and blue if you ever decide to pull anything like that again! Did I make myself clear?" Jake all but shouted, finally stopping his pacing and looking directly into Daniel's eyes.

Still stunned, Daniel couldn't help but catch onto just one word. "Family?" he asked amazed.

"Of course you're family! I told you Sam considers you as her brother – which, incidentally, makes you my little brother too," Jake replied slightly confused. "Why else would I chew you out like that?"

"I ... uhm, don't know," Daniel answered, a true smile suddenly appearing on his face. "Family," he repeated, though more to himself than to Jake.

"Well, yeah," Jake replied, and – all his anger having faded at Daniel's awe at being accepted as family – added amused, "Are you sure you actually _are_ as smart as everyone says?"

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, everyone passing Iso-room 1 to maybe welcome Daniel back or just minding their own business could see Teal'c standing watch at that aforementioned room, daring anyone to enter without his permission.

But only those close to him also recognised the smile on his face.

And, indeed, Teal'c was more than pleased right now. He was about to enter the room to greet Daniel when he heard Jake's raised voice. Standing close enough to – even if just barely – understand what was being said inside he couldn't help but agree with Jake. And be happy for Daniel.

* * *

_A/N: Argh! I'm really sorry about the slowness of updates, but looks like the writers block is still around. Seems like I'm writing – literally - at a pace of no more than 100 words per day – which doesn't really help my aiming for a weekly update. BAH! (Maybe I should stop colour-coding my daily progress ;-) ?) But at least I AM writing._


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

After welcoming Daniel back again – without the chewing out bit – and giving him a brotherly hug and slap on the back, Jake left the room in a really good mood. Only to run into the solid back of Teal'c.

"Teal'c! Sorry, I didn't see you," Jake said embarrassed.

Smiling – almost - Teal'c simply bowed his head. He had learned quite fast that a gesture rather than a verbal answer can be a very amusing way of communicating with most of the Tauri. Although he didn't really understand it, a non-verbal reply seemed to make most of them uneasy, something he loved to use to his advantage.

"Uhm, I guess you want to say 'Hello' to Daniel and all that?" Jake continued slightly uncertain. "It's good to have him back, huh?"

"Indeed," Teal'c replied, giving Jake a real smile and therefore saved him from further stammering. He liked and – more importantly – approved of the way Jake protected his family, and though he'd never admit it to anyone, he was smitten with his twin daughters. Altogether, he highly respected Jake and considered him as someone who deserved his friendship and protection, no matter what. "I shall go and welcome Daniel Jackson back myself."

"Okay," Jake started before realising something else. "And thanks for keeping everyone else out, you know."

Smiling approvingly at Jake's realisation, Teal'c bowed his head again and went into Daniel's room.

"Daniel Jackson, it is good to see you alive and well," Teal'c said as soon as he reached the bed Daniel was sitting on. Then, surprising Daniel, Teal'c moved closer to give him a rather hearty hug.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Jake, encouraged by his talk to Daniel, decided to get the second thing bothering him out of his system before meeting with his colleagues again. Just after he finished this train of thoughts he realised his subconscious mind had already made that decision the second he left the infirmary as he found himself well on the way to his next target.

A few minutes later he knocked at an office door, hoping his target was actually in there and not at his more favourite places – Daniel's and Sam's labs. Although the former one was more than unlikely right now, he couldn't be sure about the latter one. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long for a reply and his knock was met with a casual, "Enter!".

"Do you have a few minutes?" Jake asked upon entering the office.

"Jake!" Jack exclaimed enthusiastically – hey, the man had just saved him from filling out boring forms – and continued flippantly, "What can I do for you today?"

"You certainly seem to be in a good mood," Jake observed amused.

"Well, what can I say, you have great timing," Jack replied grinning, disgustedly pointing towards the impressive pile of paper in his In-box.

"Yeah, your reputation concerning the avoidance of paperwork seems legendary," Jake snorted.

"Really?" Jack asked rather impressed with himself. "What can I say, I aim to please the little people," he continued, grinning.

"What about the bigwigs?" Jake asked amused.

"Ahh. Well, seems like they can't live without me," Jack replied nonchalantly. "Did you know that I already retired twice and am still around as they just couldn't cope without me," Jack continued smirking while holding up three fingers.

"Full of yourself, much?" Jake asked playfully, being sure Jack wouldn't mind.

"You seem smug yourself," Jack observed curiously, effectively changing the topic.

"Well, I've just visited Daniel and welcomed him back and all," Jake replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"And?" Jack probed curiously.

"Maybe I chewed him out. A bit." Jake answered sheepishly.

"How come?" Jack asked though he already had a pretty good idea himself.

"Come on, you've seen yourself how much it hurt Sam to watch him slowly die while not being able to do anything. Especially after everything she's been through lately this didn't exactly help her recovery - and I told him just that," Jake explained. Seeing Jack nod, he continued, "Well, considering I was in the swing of things I might have given him a lecture in 'How to be a good brother to Sam' too, considering that's exactly how she sees Daniel and it also being a reason just _why_ it hurt Sam so much to stand by helplessly. Thinking of it, I might also threatened him to beat him up if he tries anything like that again – besides him being family."

"You _do_ realise he actually saved her in doing what he did?" Jack finally asked. "If Daniel hadn't stopped the experiment _all_ of us would be toast by now."

"Oh. Ops?" Jake replied blushing. He honestly had just seen Sam's hurt and had been mad at Daniel for putting her through this – even though Daniel _was_ the one in excruciating pain and dying, and deep down Jake knew he was being unfair to him – but he never considered what would have happened if Daniel had done nothing. Until now – and he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, I thought so," Jack answered quietly. Being pretty sure what was going on in Jake's mind, Jack added on a lighter note, "Besides, chewing out Daniel is my job!"

Surprised, Jake could only raise his eyebrows.

"Truth is, besides Daniel saving all of us I _was_ going to have a serious word with him myself," Jack admitted. Sighing deeply, he continued, "Then again, Daniel wouldn't be Daniel if he had just stood by – and anyone of us would have done the same thing."

"I guess," Jake admitted. Though envisioning Sam going through what Daniel had gone through made him sick to the bone. Taking a deep breath to get this particular picture out of his head, and then another one, he continued, "I suppose I should apologise to Daniel."

"Naw," Jack replied, slapping Jake on the shoulder. "Danny-boy is probably still too confused by Janet's move on him to be hurt by your telling him off. Besides, your telling him he's family makes up for much more than your chewing him out. Believe me."

"You think so?" Jake asked surprised.

"Absolutely," Jack confirmed. "And you won't find a more loyal brother than Daniel. Just watch out when he and Sam start sticking their heads together and you know you've pissed them off, cause that might get _really_ ugly," Jack ended shuddering.

"Sounds like that's experience speaking," Jake stated smirking.

"Believe me, you don't wanna know," Jack replied.

"Oh, I believe you. I've been growing up with Sam, remember?" Jake said smiling, then, remembering something rather interesting, he asked curiously, "And what was that about Janet and Daniel?" Hey, he wasn't interested in any gossip or so, just looking after his newly acquired brother!

Grinning, Jack told Jake everything about Daniel's appearance this morning, including all the juice details of Janet's impressive and rather surprising move on Daniel.

"Oh boy," was Jake's only comment.

"Yep, that about sums it up," Jack confirmed, smirking at the memory – only to be rudely brought back to reality by Jake's rather serious sounding next question.

"Well, speaking of budding relationships, what's going on between you and my little sister?" Jake asked sternly.

"Huh?" Jack replied, though not because he didn't know what Jake was talking about but rather to gather his thoughts. Jack was well aware that Jake _was_ Sam's big brother after all. "Dunno what you're talking about," he added innocently.

"Let's just say I had a rather interesting visit from Dave this morning," Jake started.

"We've got a Dave on base? Why am I always the last one to learn these things!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air for good measure.

"Dixon!" Jake clarified, rolling his eyes at Jack.

"His name's Dave?" Jack replied, doing a very good impression of being surprised.

"Jack," Jake warned quietly. Enough was enough.

"Jake?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows, all the while ignoring Jake's obvious annoyance. Hey, this could be much more fun than he had anticipated!

"Sam. We were talking about Sam," Jake replied after taking a calming breath.

"Not Dave Dixon?" Jack asked innocently.

"Jack!" Jake all but shouted, having lost the rest of his patience. Sometimes he really wondered how Jack managed to survive his job or even just stayed in the Air Force for as long as he had. Or why the hell his sister seemed to have a thing for him – well, loved him.

"Okay, okay," Jack started, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. Maybe it was time for a tactical retreat, especially as he really _did_ want Jake's blessings for his relationship with Sam. "Sam. We were talking about Sam."

"Right," Jake started, "Sam. So what's going on between the two of you."

"I love her," Jack simply stated, surprising himself at how easy it was to admit it to Sam's brother.

"You love her," Jake repeated a bit astonished. Well, technically, he knew or at least had suspected it already, but to actually _hear_ it from Jack was still a different matter – even though he knew Sam felt the same.

"Yep, I love her," Jack answered confidently, now that he had actually said it out loud once it was much easier to repeat.

"And what are you intending to do about it?" Jake asked nonchalantly.

"What do I-?" Jack repeated. He already told Sam about his feelings. Kind of, anyway. He had promised her the time she needed. What else was he supposed to do? "What do you mean?"

Rolling his eyes at Jack - this reply reminded him so much of the earlier talk he had with his sister, it was both amusing and scary at the same time - Jake answered, "Just what I said. What are you intending to do about it?"

"Well, I told her that I-" Jack started.

"That you love her?" Jake asked, although he knew Jack hadn't done so. Yet.

"That I would be there whenever she's ready for more," Jack finished slightly irritated. Was Jake actually trying to _push_ him into a relationship with Sam? Not that he'd mind, but it wasn't exactly what he had expected either.

Rolling his eyes, _again_ - those two are _really_ going be hard work - Jake decided to let Jack off the hook for now and continued to probe, "Caity?"

"I'm firmly wrapped around her little finger," Jack replied without thinking.

"So, so," Jake answered, trying to suppress the smile caused by Jack's last reply. "Got any problem with that?"

"Nope," Jack grinned.

"Good." Jake replied. Not that he had expected anything else anyway.

"Yeah, if I was 20 years younger and Caity was 15 years older I'd sure be in trouble!" Jack continued good naturedly.

"You know, Sam will definitely have her hands full when Caity finally starts dating," Jake replied smiling.

"Caity? Dating?" Jack asked shocked before exclaiming rather forcefully, "Never!"

Laughing out loud – this time Jack really sounded _just_ like Sam – Jake said, "We'll see, Jack. We'll see." Then, turning serious, Jake continued, "Just to be clear, if you should ever hurt or just try to hurt my little sister-".

"Teal'c is going to rip me into pieces and send me to various System Lords," Jack replied just as serious.

"It's not exactly what I had in mind," Jake replied smiling, "But it'll do!"

"Sweet," Jack exclaimed, glad that this particular talk with Jake seemed to be over. And judging by the look on Jake's face, he was too.

Finally, after the sudden silence descending on the room became too awkward, Jack spoke up, "So... cake?"

"Yes!" Jake replied relieved, already turning and heading towards Jack's office door. "You coming?"

xoxoxoxoxo

While unbeknownst to Sam her brother and potential lover were talking about her, Sam found her way back to the infirmary. She actually had tried to concentrate on her work but found her thoughts going back to the conversation she had with Jake before coming to her lab. Also, she didn't really have much time to talk to Daniel when he so suddenly returned and she just needed the reassurance that he was really back and more importantly that he was okay. And, last but not least, there was Janet's rather impulsive reaction to Daniel's return in the infirmary that desperately needed talking about.

After being redirected towards Janet's office by one of the nurses at duty – one who unfortunately had lost the little instant game on who was going to bring Daniel his food – Sam took a deep breath before knocking and entering when asked to do so.

"Janet, hey," Sam asked cautiously, "How are you?"

"Fine," Janet replied, though when she couldn't help but blush furiously, she added muttering, "Oh for crying out loud!"

Grinning, Sam went over to where Janet was sitting at her desk, her face covered with her hands, and started rubbing Janet's shoulders. "Interesting morning, huh?"

"You could say so," Janet mumbled into her hands.

"I guess you didn't exactly plan this, right?" Sam asked, gently moving Janet's hands from her face and sitting down onto Janet's desk to face her.

"D'OH!" was all Janet replied. Because, really, it was a pretty futile question. One Sam already knew the answer to anyway.

Laughing, Sam nudged her friend in the shoulder, "And you say _I_ spend too much time with Jack?"

"Yeah, yeah," Janet replied grumpily, before starting to laugh as well.

"So, how are you, really?" Sam asked quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't realise just how much Daniel's latest brush with death really affected you."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Janet replied gently, reassuringly. "Besides, _I_ didn't know it myself until I saw Daniel standing there, looking like he'd never been terminally ill in the first place!"

"So you did the first thing that came to your mind and-" Sam started amused.

"I know, I know," Janet admitted sheepishly.

"And by the looks of it you seemed to rather enjoy yourself too," Sam couldn't help but add.

"Bah!" Janet exclaimed and rather childishly stuck out her tongue at Sam, causing Sam to laugh again.

"Anyway, I don't know about you, but Jack offered to Caity-sit tonight so we can have one of our, and I quote, woman-thingies where we have wine, play with all those creams and stuff and talk about men," Sam asked grinning.

"Woman-thingies?" Janet snorted.

"Yeah," Sam laughed. God, she loved this man. Whoa! Where did this come from? Yes, like she told her brother before, she cared deeply for Jack and would barely have made it through the last couple of month without him. But love? That was quite – big and scary.

"Sam?" Janet asked concerned, having sensed the sudden mood swing in her friend.

"Huh?" Sam replied confused, only reacting to her name while actually still being deep in thought.

"You okay?" Janet continued.

"Oh! Yes. Sorry, I've just been thinking," Sam explained sheepishly. Taking a deep breath, she added, "I guess I wouldn't mind some wine tonight."

"Jack?" Janet asked knowingly, "It's getting serious, huh?"

Now it was Sam's turn to blush, but she nodded nevertheless.

Smirking, Janet continued, "Well, I don't know about you but I'd fancy some wine, a bit of talking, some gossiping. You've got anything planned tonight?"

"Your place?" Sam asked sheepishly. She knew Cassie was camping with a couple of friends for the next 2 days so they'd be undisturbed.

"Afraid Jack might accidentally eavesdrop while looking after Caity?" Janet asked grinning.

Ignoring Janet's last comment, Sam asked, "How about 7 tonight?". That way she could still have dinner with Caity while there'd be enough time for her and Janet to talk as well, bearing in mind they both had to work the next day.

After receiving a nod – and a mischievous grin – from Janet, Sam just rolled her eyes and left her friend's office to see Daniel. And even if she'd never admit it to Jack, his idea of her meeting up with Janet was brilliant and just what she needed.

_A/N: I'm getting better again! Ha! LOL. Anyway, I really have to thank all of you reviewers this time – especially those including some criticism - cause they helped me lots in putting this one out that fast (relatively spoken, anyway)! So for those of you who didn't like the way Jake treated Daniel, I hope you like the first bit of the Jack-Jake talk (me: Jake, reviews: Jack. LOL)! _And_ I have a plan on how to finish this story! Looks like there are only about 2 chapters and some sort of Epilogue left. Enjoy (and review ;-))!_


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

Tuesday morning started off well for the guards at the various checkpoints at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex as all of them were treated to the brilliant smile of one Lt. Col. Samantha Carter on her way in. It was a sight all of them had missed the last couple of month so it was no wonder that at least one or two of them wondered if 'she had gotten some'. Of course, all of them respected her too much to say any of this out loud.

Meanwhile, Sam was oblivious to these thoughts as she was reliving last night. Knowing Caity was safe and quite happy to spend the evening with Jack, Sam had allowed herself to relax and truly enjoyed her evening with Janet. And boy, what an interesting evening it had been! Chuckling quietly on her way to the first elevator, Sam remembered Janet coming home – somewhat late and rather flustered. At least she had brought some Chinese takeaway - in foresight Sam hadn't eaten much at home - and they soon had made themselves comfortable in the living room, eating and gossiping for hours.

How Sam had missed that particular part of her friendship with Janet! If possible, last night had brought them even closer together – and helped both of them to mostly figure out their feelings towards two certain male members of SG-1. Not that everything was perfect, but both knew now what they wanted from 'their man'. And more than once did their gossiping bring tears of laughter into both Sam's and Janet's eyes.

Cassie's obvious interest in Keenan was another of their topics – and one Janet hadn't found too funny. At all. Cassie was her baby, after all. She had suspected her daughter was developing a crash towards Keenan, but hadn't known how serious it really was. Until Sam told her about Caity's comments on Keenan kissing Cassie all better and them whispering all the time as well. But in the end Sam managed to calm Janet's fears, assuring her Keenan really was a great guy – even though, deep down, Sam _did_ sometimes wonder how the frightened little girl they met on Hanka could possible be old enough to date!

Later, when Sam finally came home, she couldn't help but smile when she entered her living room – besides the considerable mess she found. Caity's army of soft toys was lying on or in close proximity of the couch and arm chairs, some of them hiding behind mountains of pillows, most of which were originally from Caity's room as well. And in the middle of said battlefield – because that's the only way Sam could think of to describe this display – were Jack and Caity, passed out on the couch.

Shaking her head at her very own two trouble-makers, she rescued a blanket from under the couch table and draped it over the two occupants of her couch. Caity, lying on Jack's stomach with her head safely tucked under his chin looked comfortable enough and Jack, well, he should have known better than to create or at least help to create such a mess and if he woke with some stiff muscles in the morning it just served him right.

At that point Sam didn't even dare to look into her kitchen so instead she went straight to her bed. If it was the knowledge of her daughter being safe with Jack or just a general sign of her recovery Sam didn't know, she only knew she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and wasn't woken by nightmares - or any dreams in general. Instead, after a night of fitful sleep she was woken by a rather sheepishly looking Caity and Jack, bringing her a fresh cup of coffee to her bed, declaring breakfast was all ready and just waiting to be eaten.

When she managed a short look into her living room she was surprised to find that most of the mess had already gone. Raising an eyebrow she threw a knowing look in Jack's direction who just smirked and shrugged his shoulders in return. Throughout breakfast Caity had enlightened her with stories of last nights adventures and by the time Sam and Caity had finished their shower and were ready to leave, both kitchen and living room were spotless once again – and Jack was grinning smugly at Sam.

He'd woken early and after carefully extracting himself from under Caity he'd first checked on Sam, even watched her sleep for several minutes, and then went to work in the kitchen. Even though they had dinner before Sam left, he and Caity managed to make quite an impressive mess once they were left alone. Well, dessert _was_ the most important meal of the day, after all!

Once he was done he found Caity sleepily staring back at him from her position on the couch. Giving her a few minutes to wake up completely he convinced her they'd better put all her toys and pillows back into her room – before her mommy woke up and the mess would get them into big trouble.

As it had taken them surprisingly little time to do just that, and even more surprisingly Sam hadn't woken up despite their frequent trips up and down the stairs, Jack decided they had just enough time to surprise Sam with breakfast already waiting for her once she woke up. So, taking a fresh coffee as possible necessary peace offering, he and Caity had set out to wake Sam.

Once they had finished breakfast, he'd taken a quick shower in the guest bathroom and finished the cleaning job – and was now grinning at Sam as if he was the personified innocence.

Chuckling again when she left the elevator, Sam made her way straight to the infirmary. Even if both of them could only spare a few minutes, Sam just _had_ to tell Janet what she had found last night and how this morning had worked out.

xoxoxoxoxo

Pleased with the outcome of the just finished conversation Teal'c put the phone down. Of course he hadn't expected anything else but he had learned long ago abiding his friends laws rather than questioning them – however weird they seemed to him at times - gave him more time to spent on the important things. Like educating himself by watching diverse TV shows. Or the mission he was about to embark to.

Once on his way he amused himself by observing the reaction of the guards on his way out. Most of them, predictably, wondered why he'd leave the mountain – and his clothes clearly indicated he was actually leaving the base and not just going topside – on his own. In the middle of the afternoon _and_ on a weekday at that. Yet none of them dared to ask, which only amused Teal'c more.

As soon as he left the base in a motor pool car, Teal'c switched on the radio, found himself his favourite station and started to sing along in a deep baritone voice. _Loudly_. It was one of his secret passions, one young Cassandra Frasier had introduced him to and one only Cassandra knew about. Sometimes it did help to be the only other alien around. Which, of course, brought him back to his current rather difficult mission.

Reaching his destination, he parked the car, got out and walked the last few meters towards a hopefully enjoyable but also successful afternoon.

"Teal'c! It's great to see you again," Jocelyn asked as soon as she opened the front door to Teal'c, letting him in at the same time.

"Indeed, it is great to see you too," Teal'c replied, bowing his head slightly, smiling at her.

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Jocelyn asked anxiously.

"It will indeed be a great pleasure and honour to look after your daughters as well as after Caitlin Carter. Do not fear, nothing shall happen to them," Teal'c replied, smiling openly at Jocelyn.

Still not completely used to his way of speech, Jocelyn blushed slightly at what she deciphered as a hidden praise for her children. More importantly though, she knew the children would be absolutely safe with him. She might have been quite apprehensive when she first met Teal'c, he _was_ a big man after all, but as soon as she saw him patiently enduring her daughters climbing all over him, all of her uneasiness vanished. Not to mention that her daughters were completely in love with their newest toy!

"Well, the twins were very excited when I told them you'd come by to watch them and it took some time to actually get them down for their nap. So they'll probably sleep for another hour or so," Jocelyn explained while quickly moving through the house, gathering everything she needed. "Here's the baby-phone so you can hear them as they wake up. Caity is napping in Keenan's room and Lucas is enjoying the quietness, playing on his computer. Besides, Keenan should be back in about an hour, so you'll have some more help then, if needed."

"Very well," Teal'c replied, standing motionless in the living room while Jocelyn was still scurrying around. Of course, he _knew_ Keenan would be back soon as Jocelyn mentioned it on the phone already and that was what he counted on, really. He had a mission to fulfil, after all.

Earlier he had accidentally overheard Jake telling Sam that his wife had an impromptu meeting at the art gallery she was starting to work at soon and was now desperately looking for a babysitter for their daughters and Caity. Lucas would be fine alone but with Keenan being elsewhere there was no way she could leave the twins, Caity and Lucas alone. Teal'c had ceased the moment and called first General Hammond for approval to leave the base and then Jocelyn Pullman to offer his assistance.

"I honestly don't know how to thank you for this," Jocelyn started once she got everything she needed and was ready to go, "This meeting is really important to me and I wouldn't have been able to go without your help," she finished, kissing him on his cheek – and managing to surprise Teal'c with it at the same time.

"You are very welcome," Teal'c replied, smiling as widely as jaffaly possible.

As soon as Jocelyn had left, Teal'c went to check on his charges and found them just like Jocelyn had described earlier. Taking this job as serious as watching his friends backs on missions, Teal'c - baby-phone in hand to watch over the twins - stood guard over Caity, waiting for either of them to wake up.

Just as expected, Caity was the first to do just that. "Hi Uncle Teal'c," she said sleepily, once she recognised him.

"Good afternoon, young Caitlin Hope Carter," he replied, moving over to Keenan's bed, smiling gently at her.

Giggling at his reply, Caity asked, "Why do you always call me that?"

"It is your name, is it not?" Teal'c replied, cocking his head to one side.

"Uh huh, but mommy only calls me that when I'm in trouble!" Caity explained while holding her arms out, clearly indicating she wanted to be picked up. "I'm thirsty."

Picking Caity up and walking towards the kitchen, Teal'c explained, "My people consider it a sign of politeness and respect to use ones full given name."

Scrunching up her nose, Caity thought hard about what that meant before she grinned broadly at Teal'c, "That means you like me!"

"Indeed," Teal'c replied smiling. "You are very bright, young Caitlin Hope Carter."

"What's your full name? Can I call you by that too?" Caity asked seriously.

"I am very honoured by your request," Teal'c started, putting her on the floor once they reached the kitchen and bowed to her, clearly touched by her response. "Yet Teal'c is the only name important to me, although I feel privileged by the title of Uncle."

"Oh," Caity replied. "Uncle Teal'c?" she continued, making sure to emphasise the uncle bit but still wondering why he didn't have any more names. "Maybe you can just call me Caitlin?" That way there were on an equal level, right?

"Very well," he agreed, bowing again while handing her a glass of orange juice, "Caitlin."

Grinning, Caity took the glass and drank the juice greedily. She _was_ thirsty, after all!

Knowing she should be relatively quiet while her little cousins were still sleeping, Caity went to her bag and got on of her favourite books. She then dragged Teal'c to one of the comfy chairs, told him to sit down after which she climbed on his lap and asked him to read to her. Giggling when he read in a rather stoic voice, Caity took the book, telling him he had to use _different_ voices for the different figures and proceeded to show him just what she meant. And this was how a stunned Keenan found them when he arrived a little while later.

"Keenan!" Caity cried happily, then, remembering the still sleeping twins, she quickly covered her mouth and looked apologetic between Teal'c and Keenan. "Ops?"

"It's alright," Keenan replied while catching his whirlwind cousin when she jumped at him. "Having fun?"

"Uh huh! I'm showing Uncle Teal'c how to read stories properly!" Caity explained excitedly, smiling first at Keenan and then at Teal'c.

"And you are a formidable teacher, young Caitlin," Teal'c replied seriously, causing Caity to proudly puff up her chest.

"I bet she is," Keenan said, ruffling Caity's hair lovingly, "considering how much she loves story-time!"

"Yep!" Caity agreed.

Seeing the way Teal'c eyed him in an almost intimidating way – _and_ having been warned by Cassie that her uncles could be rather protective – Keenan gently put Caity down and asked, "So, what's Lukas been up to?"

"Dunno," Caity replied, shrugging her shoulders. She hadn't seen him since before her nap after all.

"What!" Keenan answered in mocked shock, "For all I know he might be in his room, trying to beat my record on his computer game! I thought you'd protect me from my evil little brother!"

"Poor Keenan!" Caity replied giggling.

"Hey!" he answered, putting both his hands on his heart, "You hurt me deeply."

Giggling even more, her eyes sparkling with mischief, she said, "I'll go and spy on him!"

"Thank you! You're my little life-safer," Keenan replied theatrically, ruffling his cousin's hair again.

Once she was gone, Keenan turned sheepishly towards Teal'c, "Um, I guess you wanna talk?"

"We will not be overheard in your backyard," Teal'c replied, answering Keenan's question only indirectly. He had to admit though, the boy seemed to be nervous and possibly scared, yet he had made sure they'd be alone for a while in providing a distraction for young Caitlin. And Teal'c respected that, not that he was going to show Keenan that – he wouldn't want to spoil his fun after all!

Swallowing nervously, Keenan followed Teal'c out and waited for him to start. Unfortunately Teal'c was just standing there, arms on his back – and despite the pink baby-phone on his belt – looking rather intimidating. So after several minutes Keenan couldn't stand it anymore and started, "I suppose that is about Cassie?"

Teal'c nodded, but refrained from giving any verbal reply.

Realising the nod was the only reply he'd get, Keenan continued, "Cassie told me you'd probably want to talk to me." Laughing nervously, he added mumbling, "_And_ Colonel O'Neill _and_ Dr. Jackson too."

Again, Teal'c just stood silently, although he _did_ raise his left eyebrow at the last comment.

Silently thanking Cassie for her scarily exact prediction of Teal'c's behaviour once it'd come to this meeting, Keenan took every ounce of bravery he could find in his body, breathed in deeply and started talking with just a slight quiver in his voice. "Considering Maia and Lena are probably going to wake up any minute now we might just as well cut this conversation short, so I'll just start, okay?"

He _was_ the only one talking anyway and it didn't look like that would change soon. So seeing no objection coming from Teal'c, Keenan continued with conviction, "I do like Cassie, a lot. But I can't predict what is going to happen in the future and, lets face it, I have no clue whatsoever what I'm doing here as I'm pretty new at this girlfriend thingy. However, I can promise you this, I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt Cassie."

This time Teal'c tilted his head to one side in addition to his left raised eyebrow, yet he still refrained from saying anything. And why should he talk anyway, the boy in front of him seemed to do a pretty good job of it and Teal'c was more than curious to hear what else Keenan had to say.

"Besides, do you have any idea how scary Aunt Sam can be when she's mad at you?" Keenan added, visible shuddering at the simple thought of it. "And as she really loves Cassie, hurting her would definitely get Aunt Sam mad and that's something I'd never risk. Ever. Not only because that's _scary_ but more importantly because I love her too much to do anything to upset her like that."

Whoa, looks like Teal'c can do the one eyebrow-thingy on both sides!

Almost smiling at this observation, Keenan finished by saying, "Anyway, I know you've got some sort of special connection to Cassie and she considers you family. _And_ I'd be an idiot to not be impressed or intimidated by your physique nor am I fooled by your gentleness towards my sisters or Caity – which I really appreciate by the way – so let's just consider me warned I should better not do anything to hurt Cassie or else and save us some time, okay?"

Of course, one of his sister decided to wake up just then, bringing the baby-phone to life.

"Indeed, I believe we understand each other very well, then," Teal'c replied, bowing his head towards Keenan and smiling when he looked up again. He _was_ impressed with Keenan's speech, after all. "Now I shall go and retrieve your sisters from their afternoon rest."

And with that he turned and went back into the house. Meanwhile, Keenan took a deep breath and, realising his legs were pretty shaky at best, let himself fall into the next available lawn chair. Damn, nobody told him that talking to your girlfriends family could be so exhausting!

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to himself as Caity came running out of the house and once she spotted him, went straight over and unceremoniously made herself comfortable on his lap.

"Hey, you okay?" Keenan asked concerned, his physical and mental exhaustion forgotten.

"Uh huh," Caity replied, snuggling even closer.

"Still tired?" Keenan wondered.

"Nope."

"Hm. Maybe Lucas bore you to death?" Keenan thought out loud.

"Nope," Caity replied giggling. "But he beat your record!"

"Oh no! I thought you're going to protect me!" Keenan answered in mocked shock again.

"Tough luck!" Caity said mischievously, poking Keenan in the ribs.

Tickling Caity back, Keenan exclaimed, "Hey!"

Laughing heartily, Caity twisted and wriggled on Keenan's lap to get away from his merciless fingers until she was out of breath and had to beg for mercy.

"So, you wanna tell me what's going on now?" Keenan asked when both of them had caught their breath and Caity was once again snuggled up to him.

"You really like Cassie, huh?" Caity finally asked.

"Yeah, I do," Keenan answered, confused at why Caity would ask this question.

"Do you like her more than me now?" Caity whispered.

"No! No, of course not," Keenan replied surprised. "It's just another kind of liking, you know?"

"But you kiss a lot and are always together," Caity said quietly, "and finally you won't want to play with me anymore."

"Hey, that's not true," Keenan tried to reassure Caity, gently removing a single tear from her cheek. "It's true that I like spending time with Cassie and I'm hopefully doing a lot of that in the future. But I'll _always_ have time for you. You _are_ my favourite little cousin and the best mischief ally in the world and nothing is going to change that. Ever. Besides, I promised David to always look out for you so you're stick with me forever."

"Really?" Caity asked, sniffling slightly.

"Really," Keenan reassured her, kissing the top of her head. "And believe me, I'll definitely be there when you start dating, if you like it or not," Keenan added grinning.

Happy with Keenan's reassurances – even though she didn't really understand his last statement - Caity sighed deeply and cuddled closer once again, admitting quietly, "I like Cassie too."

Hugging Caity, Keenan was glad he'd managed to dispel her fears – and he made a note to make sure he'd actually spent enough time with her. In any case, it looked like talking to your _own_ family after getting yourself a girlfriend can be just as interesting as talking to your girlfriends family!

xoxoxoxoxo

Jocelyn was driving home in a great mood. Even though her meeting took longer than she thought it was a full success and she was really looking forward to start working at the gallery now. Her new employer didn't just expect her to turn up and do what she was told but also encouraged her to bring in her own ideas. And this was just as well, because even though she spent a lot of time at home with her children, she did have several years of experience in her field.

Still smiling when she parked her car, she was surprised to hear another car stop just as she was walking to her front door. Waiting to see who it was, she started smiling again when she recognised the driver.

"Daniel! How are you?" Jocelyn asked before he even reached her. She knew he'd been pretty ill for the last couple of weeks, even though Jake couldn't tell her what exactly was wrong with him.

"I'm great, thanks," Daniel replied smiling. "I heard you got yourself a special babysitter today?"

"Yeah, right now Teal'c's my knight in shining armour," Jocelyn said while turning to open the front door. "Well, I haven't seen the house yet but somehow I've got the feeling it will be just as it was when I left earlier."

"Yep, that's Teal'c for you," Daniel chuckled.

As soon as they entered the house they could hear laughter from the backyard. And not only the unmistakeable laughter of the kids but also a rather deep laugh that could only come from Teal'c. On the way there, Jocelyn threw a quick glance into the living room – yep, just as it was when she left – and she was even more impressed to find her kitchen cleaner than it was before.

When they stepped into the backyard, Daniel couldn't believe his eyes. Teal'c was lying on his back, laughing heartily, while the three girls were tickling him mercilessly, laughing just as hard. Lucas and Keenan were sitting next to the human pile, holding their sides from all the laughing going on.

Lucas was the first to see the new arrivals and as he could only think of one reason for Daniel being there – Keenan might enjoy teasing him as the younger brother, yet they were close and Keenan had told him about his earlier talk with Teal'c and his suspicions it might not be the last – so he nudged his brother, pointing towards the kitchen door.

Rolling his eyes, Keenan got up, leaning towards his brother, whispering, "And there comes number two."

Chuckling, Lucas gently pushed his older brother forward, hoping it'd be a while till he himself got interested in girls too.

"Hey mom," Keenan greeted, kissing her cheek. "Do you mind if I kidnap Uncle Daniel for a while?"

The reason for Daniel's – and probably Teal'c's – visit dawning, Jocelyn gave her son an encouraging smile, "That's fine, I'll be here if you need me."

Smiling at his mom, Keenan turned nervously towards Daniel who was still staring mesmerised towards the view in front of him, "Daniel?"

"Huh?" he asked, never taking his eyes of Teal'c.

Chuckling, Keenan repeated, "Daniel."

"Wha- oh! Keenan! How are you?" Daniel replied, finally coming out of his trance. "Um, do you have a couple of minutes?"

Turning to his mom he rolled his eyes, before replying, "Sure, why not."

Leading Daniel towards his room, Keenan continued, "It's good to see you up and about. Dad told me you've been quite ill."

"Um, yeah, it's good to be back," Daniel replied. Catching Keenan's questioning glare, he hastily continued, "Back to health."

"Well, Cassie will be happy to hear that. She's been pretty worried about you," Keenan continued.

"Yeah, I talked to her on the phone already," Daniel replied. "It sounded like she had a lot of fun," he added smiling.

"Dunno about you, but an all-girl camping trip sounds rather scary to me!" Keenan replied shuddering.

"Maybe, but Jack took her and Janet camping several times, so at least she knows what she's doing," Daniel answered.

"I know," Keenan grinned. "Cassie told me some of her camping stories before she left."

"So ... you and Cassie, huh?" Daniel finally asked the question Keenan had been waiting for.

"Yep. Got any problems with that?" Keenan asked cheekily. Seeing Daniel's rather flabbergasted look at that response, Keenan sighed and more or less repeated what he had said to Teal'c earlier.

"Wow. You really thought that through, did you?" Daniel finally said impressed.

"Well, Cassie kinda warned me of what would happen once her family realised we started dating," Keenan admitted sheepishly.

Chuckling, Daniel asked, "Teal'c?"

"Oh yeah," Keenan groaned.

"That bad, huh?" Daniel asked grinning.

"Nah, it was alright, actually," Keenan started. "Considering I did all the talking."

Laughing at that, Daniel replied, "Yeah, that's Teal'c for you."

"That's what Cassie said," Keenan said, before adding mischievously, "So, what are your intentions to my girlfriend's mom?"

"Wha- how-?" Daniel stuttered, stunned.

Padding him brotherly on the shoulder, Keenan continued, "Don't worry, I know exactly how you feel. And I kinda overheard Aunt Sam telling mom about Aunt Janet kissing you."

Great. And he'd just been back a day! Than another thought crossed his mind. "Does Cassie know?"

Sniggering, Keenan said, "Well, we kinda phone each day, you know." Seeing the shock on Daniel's face, Keenan gave him another pad on the back, "Don't worry, Cassie approves and said something about it's about damn time!"

"She did?" Daniel asked both surprised and relieved.

"She did," Keenan confirmed smiling.

xoxoxoxoxo

After his talk with Keenan, Daniel decided he might just as well stay, at least until it was time to get ready for his date with Janet. Teal'c didn't even have the luxury of a choice as Maia and Lena seemed to be attached to him and never really let him out of their sight. Not that he minded though, he truly enjoyed their company after all.

With both Teal'c and Daniel keeping the twins and Caity busy, Lucas and Keenan were pretty much free to do as they pleased – and they used that to the full extend, battling against each other on their computers. However, when the doorbell rang around the time their dad usually got home from work, Keenan stopped the game, grinned at his brother and called out to his mom that he'd get it.

Walking down the stairs, he added quietly, "It's for me anyway." And as he opened the door he continued cheerfully, "Hi Uncle Jack. Let's talk out here, shall we?"

For once, Jack was speechless. Though he did recover fast enough.

"Hey Keenan," Jack said, looking him up and down. "So, what gave me away?"

"Teal'c and Daniel being here for hours now?" Keenan answered cheekily.

"Damn."

"Yeah," Keenan replied, looking a bit more insecure now. "Wanna hear my speech anyway?"

Raising both his eyebrows, Jack asked, "You've got a speech?"

"Kinda, Teal'c doesn't talk a lot, you know," Keenan answered, shrugging his shoulder.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Jack replied flippantly.

Feeling more at ease again, Keenan grinned and started talking for the third time this day. He even got Jack to wince when he mentioned how scary a mad Aunt Sam could be.

"You sure you just 15?" Jack finally asked impressed by the maturity and insight Keenan was showing.

"Almost 16," Keenan corrected smiling, before becoming serious again. "I might only have been 7 when David disappeared, but he _was_ my best friend and we were basically inseparably when we were together. I guess it made me pick up Aunt Sam's despair even more easily – and I suppose it let me grow up faster too."

"Yeah, there's that," Jack admitted quietly. "That doesn't mean I'll let you out of my sight though!"

"And I'd never expect any different. Maybe I am a bit more mature than your average 16-year old," Keenan started – only to be interrupted by Jack.

"_Almost_ 16-year old," he quipped.

"Whatever," Keenan continued, rolling his eyes, "But I'm still a normal teenager, including all those little quirks and shortcomings that define us."

"Like hormones?"

"Oh yeah," Keenan agreed wholeheartedly.

"Just make sure you keep them away from Cassie," Jack replied only half-jokingly.

"How about I won't do anything with Cassie you wouldn't do with Aunt Sam?" Keenan asked, surprising himself with the ability to raise just one eyebrow.

At that comment, Jack's head shot up sharply and his eyes narrowed dangerously at Keenan. Realising his mistake, Keenan added sheepishly, "Minus the sex? I mean, you're obviously both older and more responsible and know what you are doing – and I better shut up now."

"Good choice," Jack growled, looking non too happy right now.

His head bright red, Keenan swallowed nervously but nevertheless tried again, "What I meant to say was that I'm glad Aunt Sam has you. Although Cassie says you aren't really together, yet, I know how much she relies on your presence. Besides, according to Caity, you are staying a lot with them and, I quote, kiss an awful lot. And I'm glad. But just as much as you don't want to see Cassie get hurt, I don't wanna see this happening to my aunt either."

"Fair enough," Jack agreed, the dangerous look leaving his eyes and he finally hold out his hand for Keenan to shake.

And just as well, because Sam chose that moment to drive up to the house, getting out of her car, walking towards them.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked curiously. There seemed to have been a rather serious conversation going on just minutes ago.

Jack and Keenan looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders simultaneously, turned back to her and replied innocently, "Nothing."

* * *

_A/N: Well, um, we are still at the '2 chapters and an epilogue of sorts being left of this story' stage as this not so little bugger kinda hid under the other two chapters. Only Muse was so uncooperative with it that I almost cut it out again... at least she agreed to write on the next chapter instead, so that is partly written too – and I promise you'll love it :-D!_

_Please don't forget to review, because even though I tried a few sessions with the 'Review-holics Anonymous' I'm afraid I'm too weak to overcome my addiction to reviews and they are the only thing to help me cope with it..._


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

Just like the previous morning Sam's first stop of the day was the infirmary, once again hoping Janet could spare a few minutes to chat. Sure, they had talked on the phone last night – after Keenan had called Cassie and told her about his rather interesting talks with the male members of her family and Cassie had told her mom, who just _had_ to talk to Sam about it. But that was _before_ Janet's date with Daniel. And as the best friend it was Sam's duty to get every little detail of said date as well, right?

It only took her a couple of minutes to locate Janet who seemed to be going over some of the supplies with one of her nurses.

"Janet?" Sam questioned. She might be rather interested in last night but didn't want to unnecessarily disturb her friend either.

Knowing exactly what Sam wanted, and to be honest she did too, Janet replied, "Just give me a couple of minutes to finish up."

True to her word, Janet gave a last few instructions to the nurse and then left to meet Sam outside her office. The closer she got, the bigger the grin on Sam's face grew and Janet couldn't help but blush. Even though she tried to cover up her walking slightly uneven and thought she had done quite a good job of it so far, she just knew the second she saw Sam grinning at her that she couldn't fool her friend.

"Hm, I wonder if Daniel has difficulties walking too," Sam asked thoughtfully when Janet was close enough to hear her, causing her to blush even more.

Nevertheless, Sam was her best friend after all, Janet rolled her eyes at Sam, deciding this question didn't even deserve an answer and motioned her into her office instead, closing the door firmly behind them – never seeing Sgt. Siler stopping dead close by, cradling his bloody left hand to his chest.

"I guess I should be glad to not be hoarse too," Janet admitted sheepishly, her eyes twinkling with humour.

"Really?" Sam asked rather interested, her eyes bulging out just slightly.

"Oh yeah," Janet replied nodding, grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

"Wow."

"Oh yeah," Janet repeated dreamily. "I think I've never been more grateful for Cassie spending time somewhere else."

"I bet," Sam answered chuckling, "So, did you go out for dinner at all?"

"As a matter of fact we did. Daniel just didn't go home afterwards," Janet replied cheekily and then went on to give Sam a short – they had to work after all and would have time for more later on - summary of last night.

It wasn't more than 10 minutes later that a grinning, yet thoughtful, Sam left the infirmary, heading for her lab to finally start her working day as well.

xoxoxoxoxo

Daniel was happy – and confused. The former feeling had all and everything to do with the rather fast and unexpected change in his relationship with Janet. Not that he minded, far from it, he just hadn't – well they _both_ just hadn't - realised before how much they really meant to each other. Sadly enough, it needed him almost dying, _again_, before they realised their feelings, or at least Janet did and after that it didn't take much for him to see the truth as well.

However, that wasn't the reason for his confusion as he was surprisingly clear on his own feelings towards Janet and knew what he wanted in that respect. No, he was confused by the increasing amounts of grins and smirks – and not to forget the slaps on his shoulder – he received whenever he left his lab. And the further the day progressed, the more frequent these things became.

He asked Janet later that afternoon when they met for a quick cup of coffee and some pie, but she had been busy in the infirmary as two teams had come back under fire shortly after Sam left her this morning. Luckily, their injuries weren't life-threatening but they were enough to keep her busy until now so she didn't see much else of the base – or the people working there.

Though now that Daniel mentioned it she looked up from her pie for the first time – there wasn't anything getting between her and her food when she's starving after all – and suddenly _did_ notice the stares not only Daniel but _both_ of them were getting. That, of course, brought the whole staring contest into a new perspective. But how did they find out about her dating Daniel? Because, honestly, this was the only logical reason for it she could think of. She was about to comment on that when Sam, Jack and Teal'c arrived at their table.

"Hey Doc, Daniel," Jack greeted cheerfully, "How's it going?"

Janet just shrugged her shoulders, knowing by the look of him that Jack had things figured out as well and was definitely going to make some comments on it, and simply went back to her pie. There was nothing she could do to prevent things from happening anyway, so why should she go hungry?

"O-kay," Daniel said cautiously at the same time. Jack looked _way_ too smug for his liking, while Sam gave both him and Janet a reassuring smile. And was that an approving look on Teal'c's face? This couldn't be good. At all.

"So, what've you been up to lately?" Jack continued nonchalantly.

"Why?" Daniel asked, giving Jack another suspicious look while everyone else in the commissary tried to look like they were _not_ listening in.

"Oh, there've been rumours," Jack explained, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at both Daniel and Janet. "Of course, my friend Daniel here would have mentioned something if there were interesting developments in his life," he continued, putting his arm around Daniel's shoulders, looking smugly around the table, leaning in on Daniel. "Wouldn't he?"

"Jack... I-" Daniel started before he was interrupted by Janet's beeper going off.

Taking one look at it, she sighed deeply, shoved the last piece of pie into her mouth, stood up and explained, "Sorry, got to go back to work."

She was half-way across the room, already thinking about her patients, when she realised every conversation had stopped and almost everyone was avoiding to look at her – even though they _were_ looking at her. Having enough of this silly behaviour already, she went back to the table she just left, while exclaiming for every single person in the commissary to hear, "Oh for crying out loud!"

Once back at the table, she grabbed Daniel who was about to leave as well by his collar and kissed him deeply and in no way innocently. Reluctantly letting go of him, Janet looked pointedly at everyone in the room, asking, "Happy?". And when there was no reply, she continued cheekily, "Anymore questions, anyone?"

After a few seconds of shocked silence all hell broke loose. The whole commissary broke into wolf-whistles and applause and Jack couldn't help but comment for everyone else to hear, "Way to go, Doc!".

Giving Daniel another short kiss, Janet whispered so only he could hear, "Sorry. But those stares were really freaking me out. I'll make up for it later." – and left the room, her head held high, to another bout of wolf-whistles.

"Damn. That kinda took all the fun out of it," Jack complained good-naturedly – once Janet was well out of earshot. Just to be on the safe side.

"It was indeed an excellent and most successful tactic," Teal'c announced after the noise level in the commissary was back to normal, smiling approvingly. "You have chosen very well, Daniel Jackson."

"It's more like he _was__chosen_ very well," Jack couldn't help but comment flippantly – earning himself a slap on his arm from Sam.

"Hey! I'm still a superior officer, you know," he complained.

"And I'm still best friends with the doctor responsible for full physicals, _sir_," Sam replied innocently. "I'm really happy for the both of you," she added towards Daniel who had sat back down in shock, giving him a hug.

Before Jack could think of a reply though, his pager went off, quickly followed by Daniel's, Teal'c's and Sam's.

"Hammond?" he asked no-one in particular and after receiving confirming nods from everyone, he led the way to the briefing room.

xoxoxoxoxo

Great. This was just great. Sam couldn't help but agree with Jack's dislike of most of the Tok'ra right now. Cause once again their timing sucked. Big time.

"Jake?" she called out while entering his lab – and almost run into Dave Dixon.

"Colonel," Sam greeted surprised, silently wondering what he was doing here.

"Sam!" Jake called from the adjoining room, cutting short any reply from Dave. "Something wrong?" he added concerned as soon as he came face to face with her.

Sighing, Sam explained, "I don't have much time but there's this mission SG1 had planned a few month back, though we never knew when it was going to happen – until we received a message from the Tok'ra less than an hour ago."

"But you left SG1," Jake pointed out.

"Yes, but this mission was planned before that – and I'm afraid it's imperative that I'm going as well," Sam replied, looking non too happy.

"When do you leave?" Dave asked sympathetically, knowing how last minute missions felt – especially when your family is waiting for you. And he wasn't even a single parent.

Looking at her watch, Sam sighed, "56 minutes. And I've got no idea how long we'll be gone, though it'll be a couple of days at last."

"You know we'll look after Caity," Jake told his sister, gently rubbing her back.

This gave Dave an idea he was sure his wife would approve of. Hopefully. "Actually, Tammie's been asking about Caity coming over to play. So why don't you let her stay for a sleepover on Friday, giving Tammie a companion in driving us crazy with questions when her party is going to start on Saturday?"

"Really?" Sam asked in surprise. At first she was quite comprehensive of that idea but when she thought about it she realised Dave was right. Caity would love it – she hadn't stopped talking about Tammie since she got back from camp after all – and Sam could be sure she'd be safe with Dave as well. "I think Caity would love it, thanks."

"No problem," Dave replied grinning. "I'll send you the bill for any therapy sessions we might need afterwards, though."

Snorting, Sam looked at her brother who simply grinned back and shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Well, poor Dave's just not as tough as our family."

"Hey!" Dave protested, mumbling "That's what you get for being helpful!"

Shaking her head at their antics, Sam turned and left the room, knowing her daughter would be well cared for while she was away. Not wasting anymore time, she made her way to the locker room to change – and phone her daughter while doing so.

xoxoxoxoxo

As it turned out nothing exciting happened that day. They were on a seemingly abandoned planet, babysitting an ongoing off-world research project on P5X-112 – involving one of Jack's favourite scientists, Dr Jay Felger. But as the day passed by and they didn't hear anything else from the Tok'ra it quickly became clear they'd spent the night. With Felger. And friends. On another planet. Joy.

When SG1 arrived at camp earlier that day, they had wondered why the scientists' and SG-teams tents were as far from each other as possible, without compromising the idea of protecting each of them that is, but immediately understood the reasons when the first of the scientists went to bed. SG1's charges were apparently rather proficient in the art of snoring and the members of SG1 were suddenly even more happy with the tents arrangements than before.

Knowing Sam wouldn't appreciate any special treatment and – more importantly - knowing she'd be up to it, Jack gave Sam the first watch. Later, after waking Teal'c to take over, Sam went to the tent she shared with Jack and knowing he was only pretending to sleep, she leaned over, slightly brushing his cheek with her lips and whispered, "Thank you.". After slipping into her sleeping bag it only took her a couple of minutes to fall asleep, assured with Jack mere inches away and Teal'c keeping watch outside she was as safe as she'd ever be on a mission.

Jack's turn was next. After exchanging a few words with Teal'c, Jack settled down quickly, enjoying the silence of the camp while making sure nothing could sneak up on him and his sleeping friends and charges. About two hours into his watch he heard some shuffling from the scientist's tents and sure enough, a couple of minutes later one of them stumbled out and went towards the latrines.

Fully expecting whoever it was to quickly return to his tent, Jack was rather surprised when the figure, that turned out to be none other but Dr Felger of course, slowly walked towards him. Great.

"Colonel O'Neill!" Jay Felger approach him, sounding far to happy for this time of night.

Ignoring him as best as he could and hoping he'd get the point, Jack concentrated on their surroundings, looking and listening for any possible threat.

"Colonel O'Neill!" Felger tried again.

"What!" Jack shouted as loud as possible while actually whispering.

"You know," Felger started, sitting down next to Jack and patting his shoulder sympathetically, "I just wanted to let you know that I don't like that new Dr Pullman either. Turning up and trying to take what's clearly yours. But don't worry, my friends and I are all on your side!"

"And I repeat: What?" Jack whispered incredulously, hoping – no, _praying_ - he'd heard wrong.

"Well, he and Carter don't belong together, not like you two do. Everyone can see that!" Felger continued with conviction, smiling adoringly at Jack - and creeping him out even more.

"One. It's Lt. Col. Carter for you, not Carter. Two. What Dr Pullman does or doesn't do is none of your business," Jack replied irritated.

Ignoring Jack's reply completely, Felger leaned in even more closely, "Don't worry. I have that Dr Pullman covered. I told him what I think and that he should be ashamed for his actions, really. See, now you don't have to worry about him getting close again!"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He always thought Felger was a bit of a nutter, but this was the definite proof of it! Of course, he didn't have any witnesses around as everyone else was in their tents, sleeping.

Or not.

Was that actually giggling coming from the direction of his and Sam's tent? Groaning, Jack thought Sam was the last person he wanted to listen in to this conversation. Not that he wanted to have it in the first place, but he would hardly get away with shooting Felger. Well, maybe if he used a zat?

Taking Jack's silence as approval of his way of action, Felger continued conspiratorially, "Oh, you don't need to thank me! I mean, after all your saving the world all the time, it's the least I can do!"

This left Jack completely speechless. _Why_ shouldn't he shoot Felger, again? And the giggling – which Felger didn't seem to hear at all – didn't help to improve his mood either.

Completely ignoring – or misinterpreting – the shocked and annoyed look on Jack's face, Felger felt clearly proud of himself, grinning like an idiot and his eyes shining bright with worship for Jack. "In fact, why don't I take over here so you can go back in your tent, getting ... uhm ... _cosy_, you know?" Felger added, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

This was it. Felger was dead. Neither the distinctively _male_ giggles nor the clearly embarrassed female coughing coming from his team's tents could stop him. Grabbing the zat next to him, pushing the little button to activate it, Jack was just about to point it to the still grinning form of Felger next to him when he was stopped by Teal'c's voice.

"Dr Felger, should you not be sleeping so you can fulfil your duties as soon as the new day dawns"? Teal'c said walking over to them, looking disapprovingly at him.

Felger, like most people, being clearly intimidated by the disapproving glare he received from Teal'c, stuttered while trying to get up at the same time, "Yes, yes, you're right. I'll go back to sleep. Now. See? I'm sleeping already." And true to his word, he truly managed to trip over some piece of wood on the way to his tent. Picking himself up, he added, "I'm fine, I'm fine. No need to worry about me. I'm going back to sleep. Now." And with that he was gone.

All the time Felger was walking back towards his tent Jack still pointed the activated zat at his back, oh _so_ tempted to pull the trigger. Catching a disapproving look from Teal'c, Jack finally disengaged the weapon and with a deep sigh put it back down – and started to think. If _Felger_ of all people thought he and Sam were that close, what would everyone else on base think?

Feeling Teal'c still watching him a couple of minutes later, Jack looked up to see what his friend wanted – only to regret his decision immediately. Teal'c was standing like, well, like he always did, but this time he actually _grinned_ back at him. Groaning silently there was nothing Jack could do but hope everyone would forget that little episode by morning. Oh, he was _so_ doomed...

The next morning, Teal'c insisted on staying with Jack – probably to prevent him to zat Felger after all - while Daniel went to explore the ruins closer to the gate, leaving Jack no choice but to send Sam with him. Then again, she didn't seemed to mind but be rather glad to escape the attention in form of questions and queries she received from the other scientists all day yesterday.

When they were finally contacted by the Tok'ra just before lunch that day, Jack was really glad for the action to start, even though it was rather short notice, giving them no time to evacuate their charges. Nevertheless, the following fight with Konshu's Jaffa went as good as could be expected – none of them was injured and they got captured, just like they had planned.

Unfortunately, Felger chose that day to play hero and, together with his colleague Simon Coombs, come and rescue SG1 – when they didn't need to be rescued in the first place. If that wouldn't have been enough, they soon learned Konshu had been identified as Tok'ra and killed, so now they suddenly _were_ in trouble and _did_ need some help. Ironically enough, Felger and Coombs managed to find the control room of the pyramid SG1 was now held at – surprisingly _without_ getting themselves killed on the way – and therefore ultimately helped all of them to escape in one piece.

xoxoxoxoxo

By the time they made it back to Earth, went through all their check-ups and were debriefed, it was almost Saturday afternoon, giving Sam just enough time to go home and change, maybe have a quick nap and then retrieve her daughter from Tammie's birthday party.

Sam had called her daughter earlier to tell her she was back and could tell by the voice of her daughter that she really enjoyed herself – but was just as excited to finally have her mommy back. Over the background noise of excited chatter and laughter Caity insisted on Jack coming as well because she had 'missed him lots' too.

When Sam was telling Jack about this conversation his face literally lit up with delight and he promised to come to her house in time for them to collect Caity. Sam was a bit nervous to turn up at Colonel Dixon's house with Jack at her side, but hearing her daughter squealing with happiness as she jumped into her arms, let those thoughts vanish at once. _And_ also helped her ignore the rather suggestive looks Dave was throwing her and Jack – behind his wife's and Jack's back, of course.

All the way home Caity was chatting away, telling them about everything that happened in the last several days at an amazing speed that could rival Daniel's speed at his best anytime. Once they arrived at the house, Caity indulged in the luxury of being carried around by her mommy while Jack was carrying her bag and opened all the doors for them, bowing like a butler which caused both her and her mommy to giggle every single time.

Seeing that neither Sam nor Caity were ready to let the other one go, even though it was past Caity's bedtime, Jack told them to get ready for bed but come down again and this time he'd read to them. So once changed, Sam and Caity got comfortable on the couch, with Sam snuggled up to Jack and Caity sitting on her mom's lap with her feet in Jack's lap. It didn't take too long for Caity to loose the fight against falling asleep and while Jack kept reading Sam followed her daughter into dreamland pretty soon.

Content, Jack just took the opportunity to watch the two most important girls in his life sleep.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sam woke in the middle of the night, writhing and breathing fast and hard. It had been a long time since she woke from one of those dreams, yet for once she didn't mind. Because if her subconscious mind found the need to indulge in these kind of fantasies, that meant she truly was recovering from all the shit that happened recently in her life.

Being slightly more awake, she wondered how she'd ended up in her bed when the last thing she remembered was sitting on the couch, letting Jack's gently voice lulling her into sleep. Smiling to herself when the realisation hit that Jack must have carried both her and Caity to bed, Sam couldn't be more happy – especially as Jack obviously chose to stay as well and she suddenly realised how much she missed this during the last few days.

Wriggling some more, because, lets face it, the dream _had_ left her restless, she found something rather interesting – and smiled broadly into the darkness. Her head was still lying on Jack's chest but during her sleep – and dream – her legs managed to entangle themselves with Jack's and her hand was subconsciously roaming along Jack's body. Until her hand found the aforementioned interesting thing.

Jack was slightly confused. He somehow knew he was dreaming, because one minute he was fighting a group of Jaffa he had found sitting on _his_ lake at _his_ cabin, grilling and eating fish they must have caught in _his_ fish-less lake – and the next he was with Sam and she was doing wonderful things to him, the Jaffa long forgotten. Truth be told, it wasn't the first time he had this kind of dream fantasy, although the Jaffa were a new and rather weird start of his dreams.

Then, of course, he had to start waking up. Crap. Waiting for the fantastic feeling of being with Sam to stop, Jack was surprised and rather confused when it didn't but rather intensified!

"Sam?" Jack asked confused, still more asleep than awake.

"Found your sidearm," she replied giggling, kissing his chest softly without lifting her head to actually look at him.

"Ah, sorry," Jack started to apologise before he realised Sam didn't seem to mind. _At all_. And his heart almost stopped while even _more_ blood was rushing south, causing Sam to giggle again. "Um, watcha doing," Jack couldn't help himself but ask.

"My CO taught me your sidearm always needs to be in perfect shape as it might be the only thing between life and death," Sam replied still giggling, without showing any indication of stopping what she was doing – and even though Jack couldn't see it, he could _hear_ the mischievous grin on her face as she continued, "And I thought I might help you with yours!"

She definitely intended to kill him.

Slowly.

Painfully.

Mercilessly.

That was the only explanation for what her hand was doing to him. Still, he had to be certain. "Sam? You sure?" he asked tentatively.

"Uh huh," Sam replied, rolling her eyes. To emphasise just how serious she was, she finally lifted her head up off his chest and kissed him passionately, moaning when their tongues finally touched.

"Thank god!" Jack groaned once he got the chance. Then he rolled them over so he was on top – and to distract Sam's hand because he didn't know how much more he could take, he mumbled, "Too many clothes."

Well, he wouldn't have needed to worry as Sam already had his shirt half-way up his body and making short work of removing it completely. Then, rolling them over again, she straddled his lap, murmuring cheekily, "Then why don't you do anything about it?"

Jack didn't need to be told twice and happily went to work, thanking whatever had caused Sam to act on what both of them knew was only a matter of time. And then he stopped thinking altogether and only felt.

He was in heaven.

xoxoxoxoxo

Morning came bright – and way too early in the form of Caity jumping on the bed, Fluffy safely tugged under her arm, before she kneeled expectantly in front of her mommy.

"Get up! Get up! Get up! It's Sunday!" she shouted excitedly, effectively waking Sam and Jack from their much needed sleep. _Especially_ as they hadn't gotten all that much last night.

Jack, being comfortable spooned up behind Sam, lifted his head slightly and opened one eye to glance at Sam's alarm clock. Groaning, he plopped down again, kissing Sam's ear.

"0651," he complained lightly, only to receive a bout of giggles from Caity, "On a Sunday."

Sam, being way too comfortable to move and not intending to do so in the near future anyway, just opened her eyes, grabbed her giggling daughter and cuddled Caity close to her. Laughing, Caity wriggled a bit until she was comfortabe as well and then simply enjoyed the feeling of being with her mommy. She had missed this the last few days after all.

With this being their usual Sunday morning ritual, Sam knew they got another hour of sleep – if they were lucky – and intended to take advantage of it. So, sighing contented, she mumbled to both her daughter and her new found lover, "Sleep." And both complied.

About an hour later Sam was woken by Jack gently stroking her tummy under her t-shirt – and had to smile at the sight in front of her. Caity had moved out of her embrace and was now facing her, Fluffy sitting in front of Caity and she was quietly telling him all about Tammie's birthday party.

"Morning," Jack whispered, slightly bending over to give Sam an – after last nights activities – chaste morning kiss.

Hearing Jack, Caity looked up and smiled brilliantly at both her mommy and Uncle Jack. "Morning!" she exclaimed happily, leaning over to kiss both of them.

Turning on her back, Sam moved Caity with her so that she was now lying on her chest, smiling brilliantly back at her, "Hey, sleep well?"

"Uh huh," Caity nodded enthusiastically, "And I told Fluffy all about Tammie's birthday party. 'Cause he was a bit sad that he couldn't come with me," she added.

"That's really nice of you," Sam replied smiling.

"Mommy?" Caity asked, scrutinizing her closely, "Why's your shirt the wrong way 'round?"

Her eyes bulging out in horror while blushing furiously Sam checked her t-shirt only to find that her daughter was right, she stuttered, "Uhm ... I guess... I guess I didn't pay attention when I dressed... "

Patting her cheek, Caity consoled her, "Don't worry mommy, I do that all the time!"

Jack couldn't help himself but snicker at Caity's comments. But receiving a not-so-happy glare for his efforts from Sam, he decided a change of topic was in order. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. So why don't you two take your morning shower while I make us breakfast?" Jack asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Caity.

"Yay!" Caity exclaimed, already rolling from her mommy's chest, expecting her to follow suit.

But when Jack got out of bed as well, Caity started snickering, pointing towards him, "Mommy, look! Uncle Jack can't dress too!"

Sam, looking at what her daughter meant, burst out laughing, the earlier embarrassment forgotten. Even though Jack didn't have the same trouble with his t-shirt as Sam, his boxers were turned inside out.

Looking down at him, Jack simply shrugged his shoulders, grinning. "What can I say, I love a bit of variety!" That said, he held his head high as he walked out of the bedroom towards the kitchen as if wearing his boxers inside out was the most normal thing in the world.

Truth is, he and Sam had taken a – rather interesting - shower after the nights activities but hadn't bothered with the lights when they came back into the bedroom and dressed. They simply got into their t-shirts and shorts as soon as they found them – after all, they were having no desire to be found butt naked by Caity in the morning - climbed into bed, got comfortable in each others arms and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry, I just LOVE 'The other Guys' and couldn't help myself but add something here. I sure had fun writing it and hope you enjoyed this little bit as much as I did ;). Hope you liked this chapter, because this is definitely the penultimate one – which means we all know what happens next! Please don't forget to tell me what you thought about this one!_

_On a side note: No humans were killed in the making of this chapter, though I am afraid 24 Jaffa weren't that lucky. However, it's not my fault they taste that good, is it? _


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

Even though Caity had enjoyed the last few days first with her Uncle Jake and then with Tammie and her family, she had still missed her mommy lots and lots – and was trying to make up for it on Sunday.

Then there was Jack who had decided that _he_ had to make up for lots of lost time too! Therefore, Sam found herself cuddling Caity or Jack or even both of them for most of the day. Not that she minded, far from it, she really enjoyed it and recharged her batteries more quickly then she ever thought possible. Add to that the fact of being rather satisfied with the previous night too and it was no wonder that this brilliant smile of hers never left her face!

Then again, Sam wasn't the only happy person that day. Jack was grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary as well. So, in between serious cuddling sessions, Caity found herself rather often chased by Jack around the house. Or the backyard. Or the park. And despite his best efforts to stop them, both Sam and Caity were giggling over his rather juvenile antics repeatedly. So much for his authority as Colonel of the US Air Force! Yet Jack couldn't remember the last time he had – as cheesy as it may sound – a perfect day like this.

However, Caity wouldn't be Caity if she, in all her innocence, hadn't found a way to embarrass both Sam and Jack.

_Absolutely_ unintentionally, of course.

She _was_ just your average 7-year old after all. More or less anyway.

Naturally, Jack blamed Sam for it. Caity _was_ a Carter in the end and that, at least to him, explained a lot. More than once did several members of the Carter family made him feel uncomfortable, even if for completely different reasons. Hence, it had to be a Carter-thingy and all he could do was to make the best of it. In this case, enjoying Sam burying her face in his shoulder, groaning loudly – which, considering the close contact with his skin, did some interesting things to his body!

Caity, of course, was completely unaware of what her innocent actions did to her mommy and her Uncle Jack.

And why should she? All she did was calling her Uncle Jake, with the speakers turned on, and telling him everything about Tammie's birthday party, her mommy's and Uncle Jack's return, her falling asleep on her mommy – again – and how even grown-ups have trouble dressing sometimes. And it was hardly her fault her Auntie Jocy, Keenan and Lucas were listening in as well. Also, there wasn't anything wrong with everyone laughing at the dressing problems, either. Right?

xoxoxoxoxo

Despite it being a Sunday, Jake was smiling to himself while he was driving into work. How could he not? Just as he was about to leave to attend to an important long-term experiment, his favourite niece called and – albeit innocently – revealed some rather interesting details of his beloved sister's life. Well, as far as he was concerned, it was about damn time! Sam deserved _more_ than just _some_ happiness.

Now he only had to come up with a plan to settle some of the bets within the SGC. It might have been funny at first, considering people actually betted on who was Sam going to choose, him or Jack, or what Jack is going to do to him once he finds out about his secret relationship with Sam, but now it was getting old and more and more ridiculous.

Well, at least he managed to get – anonymously of course – into the betting pool himself and it was time to gather his winnings. And he knew just the right person to starting plotting the final showdown!

xoxoxoxoxo

Jake wasn't the only one working that Sunday. Which, of course, wasn't a surprise in itself, but the fact that one of those on duty was Col. Dave Dixon was rather important – at least from Jake's point of view.

Dave, himself, just entered the commissary with Senior Airmen Bosworth and Wells for an early lunch. His team wasn't scheduled for a mission per se, but rather on stand-by for a follow-up mission to PX3-579, that was supposed to start within the next three days, depending on when the local's approval of said mission would arrive at the SGC.

They had barely set down when Col. Reynolds entered the commissary, getting himself some food as well and coming to Dave's table.

"Mind if I you join you?" Reynolds asked Dave.

"Nope."

"So, how was your daughter's birthday party?" Reynolds asked curiously.

Groaning, Dave stopped his fork midway to his mouth, saying, "Don't ask!"

"That bad?" Reynolds asked chuckling. Having two kids himself, he could kind of relate to the groaning part of Dave's reply.

"Having six 7-year old girls basically taking over your house? Believe me, I'd rather face an army of angry Jaffa than going through that ever again!" Dave replied with conviction.

"It can't have been that bad, sir!" Simon Wells asked his CO unconvinced.

"Oh, it probably would have been fine, but Tammie's new best friend, a girl she met in summer camp, was there as well. My wife had planned for the girls to first have a tea-party and then do other girly stuff when Tammie's friend suddenly suggested to play football in the backyard and Tammie and the other girls happily agreed," Dave told them.

"What's so bad about football?" Wells asked confused. He didn't have any kids yet, but he and his wife were definitely trying for one. Still, he couldn't imagine how much trouble a handful of girls could be. Boys, yes. He remembered getting into a lot of trouble with his friends, but his sisters always seemed to be well behaved.

"Normally? Nothing. My sons happily played along as well and everything was fine until Tammie and Caity, that's her new friend, started whispering and giggling. So I decided to keep an eye on them – especially Caity after those stories I heard from camp – and suddenly found myself on the wrong end of several fully loaded water pistols! More and more of them appeared, I didn't even know we _had_ that many, and within minutes everyone bar my wife were soaked!"

"Well, it _was_ a hot day," Reynolds replied, laughing out loud.

"Yeah, yeah. Turned out it was Caity's idea and Tammie turned on her charm to convince my oldest to help her get and fill the water pistols," Dave finished, once again shaking his head at those two girls.

Smirking, Reynolds couldn't help himself but comment, "You're just pissed you were outsmarted by a 7-year old. And a girl at that."

"Ha, you haven't met her!" Dave grumbled, causing Reynolds to laugh out loud again. At least his team members had the decency to stifle their laughter. Bah.

"Haven't met whom?" Jake asked innocently, while gesturing at the last empty seat on that table and, receiving a nod from Dave, sat down.

"Dixon's daughter's evil new friend," Reynolds explained laughing. Then, remembering something else, he continued, "Hey Dave, isn't she the one who led that ambush on the boys in camp you told me about?"

Dave just nodded defeated, letting his head drop onto his folded arms in front of him, murmuring, "I just want my sweet and innocent little daughter back."

Luckily, nobody was paying attention to Jake at that moment, as he was trying hard to not spit his coffee all over the place at the mentioning of the ambush – or the realisation who exactly Reynold's meant by the 'evil new friend'!

"Naw, you don't," Reynolds replied and, recalling a conversation they had before the summer holidays started, continued, "You're in fact glad Tammie met that other girl, Caity. Because, as you told me yourself, you were worried about Tammie being too shy and rather wanting to quietly play inside than outside and it sounds that this Caity actually managed to change that!"

Snorting, Dave just shook his head. "Great. Tammie's being corrupted by a 7-year old and I don't even get any sympathies," he all but whined.

Chuckling, Jake couldn't help himself but silently agree with Dave. Kind of anyway. His niece sure had a mischievous streak about her and together with her curious and adventurous nature she came up with the most unexpected ideas. But he wouldn't want her any different way! Slapping Dave non too gently on his shoulder, he replied playfully, "Aww. Come on, I'll buy you a hot chocolate to make it all better."

"Smart-ass!" Dave replied, though he started grinning as well. Sighing deeply, he added sheepishly, "But I suppose you're right. I'm not too sorry about the changes. It just means I've to come up with a way to get back at those two little conspirators!"

"Good luck with that!" Jake snorted. "Just don't expect any help from me."

"Afraid of two 7-year olds, huh?" Reynolds commented laughing.

"You have no idea," Jake mumbled in reply.

"So, have _you_ got any kids?" Reynolds suddenly asked Jake curiously. He'd seen Dave and Jake talking and laughing regularly in the past couple of weeks and considering Jake's apparent friendship with SG1 as well, he was more than interested to learn more about this guy. Though he had to admit, Jake seemed to be quite a likeable guy – despite being one of those science geeks.

Remembering his reasons for seeking out Dave in the first place, Jake replied while waggling his eyebrows, "Now that would be telling! Wouldn't it?". After all, it wouldn't make much sense to take himself out of the equation before those bets were finally settled!

Unfortunately, that comment spiked Reynolds interest even further – and it showed. So before Reynolds could ask or say anything else, Jake added, "What I can tell you, however, is that I have a little sister. A little sister, who looked absolutely innocent at all times while she thought up all sorts of pranks. A little sister, who fooled almost everyone and got _me_ in trouble for things _she_ had done more often than I care to remember."

"Let me guess, a little sister you wouldn't wanna change for anything in the world?" Reynolds asked wistfully.

"That about sums it up," Jake confirmed, smiling at the thought of Sam as a child.

"Maybe Dave should ask _her_ for some advice, then?" Bosworth piped up good naturedly.

"Now _that_ I want to see!" Jake replied, laughing out loud while Dave once again buried his head in his folded arms.

The light banter continued throughout the rest of the meal and once everyone was finished, Jake was finally able to drag Dave into his lab – he had to oversee his experiments after all – and both put in several hours of serious planning and scheming.

xoxoxoxoxo

Once again, Sam's smile lit up the room – and the guards moods – as she walked into work the following Monday morning. Only this time, the guards assumptions of her 'getting something' were actually right. Of course, for Sam that particular aspect of her blossoming relationship with Jack was highly appreciated but not the only reason for her happiness. No, finally _admitting_ – well, lets face it, _and_ acting on - their feelings towards each other without holding back made her feel as complete as she could only remember being from her childhood, before her mom's death.

Sam was still smiling when she entered her lab, ready to work on the project she had to leave behind on such short notice the previous week. But as soon as she set foot into it, Janet jumped up from the chair she was sitting on, impatiently shooing Sam in and closing the door behind her.

"Spill!" Janet greeted her friend impatiently, a big grin plastered on her face.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Sam replied innocently, moving over to her laptop and switching it on.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Janet answered, rolling her eyes and closing the laptop again, leaving Sam barely enough time to safe her fingers from being crushed between keyboard and screen.

"Hey!" Sam protested.

"Details. I want all the juicy details. Now," Janet tried in her no-nonsense voice.

Sighing deeply, Sam started, "Well, after we left here we went to Col. Dixon's house to get Caity and she kept us entertained throughout the evening. I must have been more tired than I thought, because one moment Caity was snuggled up to me on the couch and the next she was jumping on my bed, demanding we should get up."

"Uh huh," Janet commented unconvinced. "And I bet you're going to tell me now that you and Jack must have been sleepwalking into your bed, having some trouble dressing along the way I might add, and then simply falling asleep," Janet continued sarcastically.

"Yep," Sam replied, trying to keep a straight face. "Come on! Dressing is rather difficult when you're asleep!" Sam continued, finally giving in to the giggles that wanted to escape for a long time now.

"Yeah, yeah," Janet answered, though giggling as well, once again rolling her eyes at her best friend.

"How do you know about it anyway?" Sam asked curiously.

"Well, after my supposedly best friend forgot to tell me about a rather important development in her life, I had to depend on all my other sources," Janet started mischievously, not at all bothered about Sam forgetting to call her.

"Sorry," Sam replied slightly chastised.

"Don't worry. I know you didn't think much further than spending time with Caity," Janet said gently but couldn't help herself and added rather cheekily, "And Jack, of course."

Satisfied by Sam's blushing, Janet continued, "To answer your question, Caity apparently found it rather funny that you couldn't dress properly and told your brother about it while the rest of the family listen in, of course. Later, Keenan called Cassie and repeated that conversation. And, being the concerned mom I am, I just _had_ to investigate what she was squealing about."

"Oh god!" Sam groaned, remembering that call all too clearly and blushing even deeper, covering her face with her hands. She was never going to live this down! Or be able to look at Keenan and Cassie again!

Grinning, Janet had a pretty good idea about what was going on in her friends head, Janet replied, "Don't worry. They are both happy for you. And I'm sure they'll forget about it."

"You think so?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Yes," Janet answered reassuringly before adding amused, "Eventually!"

This time Sam didn't even bother to answer but chose to throw a 'That's _NOT_ funny!' glance towards her friend.

Chuckling, Janet padded Sam on her back. "Don't worry, it _will_ be alright! And everyone in the SGC will be glad to hear you two finally got your act together. Even if some will loose their bets."

"Thanks," Sam replied gratefully. Then, as the second part of Janet's reply hit home, Sam's eyes bulged out and she looked horrified at her friend. "Whoa! You mean there are bets on me and Jack sleeping together? Please tell me you are kidding me! Please? I mean, I heard rumours of bets about Jake and me, but never thought there'd be more than one bet involving me! Oh god, I'll never be able to look anyone in the eyes again, not to mention work with them! "

"Sam, relax!" Janet started, rubbing her friends back soothingly. "Yes, there are bets – including one or two involving your brother. But bets about you have been there for years and like I said, everyone will be happy for you and they won't look differently at you. I promise. Look, while Daniel and I _were_ at the receiving end of quite a few jokes ever since that scene in the commissary, they were all in good nature and we've received nothing but support from everyone. You and Jack are two of the – if not _the_ - most respected officers in the SGC, you've sacrificed so much throughout the years and people recognise this. They only want to see you two finding the happiness you deserve – and they simply want to be a part of it."

"Until the whispers start of me sleeping my way up the ranks," Sam replied bitterly, she had seen and heard it happen before. Admittedly, not at the SGC, but there were enough examples around.

"Sam! Nobody will think that! Do you hear me? Nobody!" Janet said exasperated, throwing her hands up in the air. "Besides, if anyone should be mad enough to even suggest such a thing, than he'll answer to Jack and Jake first, Daniel, Teal'c and don't you ever forget my special custom-made needles for special occasions," Janet added on a lighter note.

Snorting at the last comment, Sam finally started to accept Janet's reassurances.

"At least think about, okay?" Janet added gently, hoping Sam would realise how different the SGC was to most military bases.

"Okay," Sam agreed, knowing Janet was probably right. Well, she usually was when it concerned the people in the SGC. And Sam had to admit, nobody seemed to mind Janet and Daniel's relationship but rather were more than fine with it.

"Good. Unfortunately I have to get back to the infirmary, but we'll talk later, okay?" Janet asked.

Smiling, Sam nodded and agreed to meet for lunch. Turning back to her laptop, Sam reflected on her almost daily gossiping sessions with Janet. Somehow they managed to become part of their daily routine and Sam had to admit, even though they were usually short, she could concentrate much better on her work afterwards as she wasn't distracted by any _so_-not-work-related-stuff.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Jack didn't even pretend to do his never-ending paperwork but went straight to Daniel's office. His great mood had to be celebrated and there simply was no better way than to go and annoy Daniel. Big time.

Upon entering his friend's office Jack went straight to where Daniel was – in Jack's mind anyway - _pretending_ to work on some rock or other and slapped him brotherly on his back – almost causing Daniel to drop the piece of rock he was so delicately holding in his hand.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel exclaimed annoyed even before he looked up. He'd been scrutinizing an artefact SG-11 had brought back just this morning and therefore hadn't seen Jack entering his office. Of course, as Jack _was_ the only one who'd dare to interrupt him so boldly he knew immediately who to blame – without looking up.

"Daniel!" Jack replied cheerfully, "So, how was the last date with the Doc? Managed to get some exercise in as well?"

"Wha-," Daniel sputtered, immediately turning a brilliant shade of red. Giving Jack an annoyed look, he finally grumbled, "Oh, shut up!"

"Uh oh, sounds like someone _really_ missed out on his beauty-sleep!" Jack replied grinning. Not that _he_ got much sleep the last two nights either, but that was a completely different story. He wasn't the grumpy one after all, right?

Daniel was just about to reply when Teal'c entered his office. Choosing to best ignore Jack for now, he greeted Teal'c rather enthusiastically, "Teal'c! How are you? How was your weekend?"

"Hey! Daniel! I was talking to you!" Jack complained good-naturedly, barely managing to hide his grin.

"Well, hi Jack – bye Jack!" Daniel replied, before turning back to Teal'c, "I was wondering if, at some point, you could have a look at the artefacts SG-11 brought back earlier?"

"It will be my pleasure," Teal'c answered in his usual solemnly way.

"Ah, careful! Danny-boy is a bit grumpy this morning, seems like he had too much exercise and not enough sleep last night!" Jack whispered after leaning closer to Teal'c, yet making sure Daniel could hear every single word. And fair enough, Daniel blushed for the second time this morning.

"Ja-ack," Daniel whined theatrically.

"What?" Jack asked, looking innocently between his two friends, before rather stating than asking, "Am I right or am I right?"

"Indeed," Teal'c replied, tilting his head in his usual way.

"Great," Daniel pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Now you're ganging up on me."

Grinning, Jack slapped Daniel's shoulder again, saying, "Nah. We're just happy for you. You, well, _both_ you and the Doc deserve some happiness."

"Whatever," Daniel grumbled suspiciously.

"O'Neill is right, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c agreed, smiling at his young friend.

"See!" Jack answered triumphantly.

But Teal'c wouldn't really be Teal'c if he hadn't had his own observations to share.

"Indeed," he continued without batting an eye, "As we are for you and Samantha Carter, O'Neill."

"We are?" Daniel asked confused.

Not being able to contain his smile any longer – he _was_ really pleased for his friends after all – Teal'c clarified, "We are indeed. I believe you and Doctor Frasier are not the only ones that experienced a lack of sleep due to extensive sexual intercourse this weekend."

Doing one of his best fish expressions ever, Daniel just looked from Teal'c to Jack and back.

And for once, Jack wasn't faring much better. He was even blushing just as brightly as Daniel had only minutes before!

Finally, Daniel started to grin just as broadly as Teal'c, commenting flippantly, "So-o, Jack. Looks like I'm not the only one who got some extra _exercise_ this weekend after all, huh?"

Rolling his eyes, there wasn't anything else he could do anyway, Jack replied, "What can I say. I need to keep the good ol' body in shape to keep you out of all the trouble that you insist on finding!"

His smile quickly fading, Daniel once again crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting slightly, "Hey! I'm not that bad."

"Su-ure," Jack drawled, smirking at his friend. "Just how many times did you die so far?"

"Oh shut up – and go find someone else to annoy," Daniel replied almost pleadingly, once again picking up the artefact he had been working on this morning. A few moments later, Daniel looked up again, his face spotting a genuine smile. "And Jack? I am happy for you too."

"Thanks," Jack replied, smiling back at his friend. _He_ was in rather high spirits after all. Clapping Teal'c on his shoulder, he added flippantly, "Come on, T. How many times do I have to tell you to _not_ disturb Danny-boy when he found himself a new rock to play with? You have to _wait_ a while till he'll let you join in!"

Shaking his head at the retrieving backs of his friends, Daniel put the artefact back down, allowing himself to think about the latest changes not only in his own but his friends lifes as well. And he realised he hadn't been that happy since he lost Sha're to Apophis - nor had he ever seen Jack as happy as this morning. Content, yes. But never really happy.

Right now, life was great.

xoxoxoxoxo

And it was even greater for Jake and Dave. Both were barely able to stop fidgeting and grinning the whole morning while setting the remainder of their plan into motion.

A plan, that was even sanctioned – sort of – by General Hammond.

A plan, that had only one goal – making this Monday the by far most memorable day in the SGC's history.

* * *

_A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait, but MUSE decided to spent her spare time reading House M.D. and so far hasn't bothered to come back. Bah ____. Therefore I had to write all of this by myself, which took much longer than anticipated, but a little reminder in form of a poking review helped a lot to get me back on track! Thanks for that. Now I've got good and bad news for you. The bad news is, that the supposedly last chapter is becoming so long that I decided to split it in two, so you have to wait for the end a bit longer. The good news is, the second part is more or less done and just needs some final adjustments, so it will be up in the next couple of days ____. Anyway, please read and review … _


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

Knowing Sam all too well, Janet went by her friend's lab to collect her for lunch. The guys were already at their table, so Sam and Janet quickly got some food as well and went to join them.

As soon as they reached the table, Janet leaned over to Daniel, kissing him soundly on the lips. Looking pointedly around the room, she grinned at those that had obviously chosen to have lunch at this time in order to see SGC's newest couple with their own eyes, and finally sat down next to a slightly red Daniel. Sometimes, she thought, the SGC could be worse than any yellow press.

Chuckling, Jack waggled his eyebrows, saying, "You know, it'd be easier to take a picture of you two and post it on the common notice board."

"But much less fun," Janet dead-panned.

Laughing out loud, Jack replied, "If you say so, Doc. It's just that Danny-boy here seems to be a bit embarrassed by the whole open affection thing."

"He'd better get used to it," Janet replied matter of factly, absently patting Daniel's hand in reassurance.

"Hey!" he protested immediately, "I'm sitting right here!"

"I know, darling" Janet replied sweetly, leaning over to give him another kiss and effectively cutting short any reply he might have. "Besides, once they find out about those two," she added evilly while pointing at Sam and Jack, "Nobody will care about us anymore."

Grinning, Daniel replied, "Yeah, I can't wait for that to happen." Then, as an afterthought, he looked questioningly at Sam, "By the way, what did Jake say about you and Jack ... uhm ... you know?"

"Having hot, wild never-ending sex?" Jack clarified in a loud whisper, waggling his eyebrows at Daniel – who in return blushed even brighter than before. "Or about us being together in general?"

"Nothing," Sam answered, rolling her eyes at Jack's reply and slapping his thigh under the table.

"Ow!" Jack complained, rubbing the spot where she had hit him.

"Behave," Sam ordered quietly, sending him a look that clearly stated 'or you sleep on the couch tonight'.

"Nothing!?" Both Janet and Daniel questioned at the same time disbelievingly, ignoring the little banter between their friends.

"Yeah," Sam repeated thoughtfully, "Nothing."

"Is that good or bad?" Jack asked, suddenly slightly concerned. He knew that Jake liked him and they already did have the I'm-the-big-brother-talk. Then again, Jake wasn't the kind of guy to _not_ comment on it as soon as he found out about it. And, thanks to Caity, finding out he did in a rather spectacular way!

"That depends," Sam answered cautiously as a rather frightening thought started to take form in her mind.

"On what?" Jack asked confused.

"On what he's planning. I haven't really thought about it, but he didn't talk to me after Caity called him yesterday. Neither did he come to my lab today, something he'd have done no matter how busy he was, _unless_ he's planning something else." Sam said slowly, while thinking what her brother might be up to.

"On what he's planning?" Daniel asked curiously, repeating Sam's words.

"Oh yeah," Sam answered. "The more I think about it, the more I'm sure he's up to something."

"Something good?" Jack asked hopefully. Because, really, Jake loved his sister. He'd never do anything to embarrass her, right?

"Probably not," Sam admitted sheepishly. She knew her brother all too well – and right now the thought crossed her mind that maybe, just _maybe_, she had him on the receiving end of her childhood pranks once – or twice - too often.

"Uhm, guys?" Daniel suddenly interrupted Sam's train of thought, pointing towards the entrance where both Jake and Dave Dixon had just appeared.

"Colonel Dixon and your brother seem to be rather pleased with themselves," Teal'c stated matter of factly.

"Uh oh," Sam replied, "That's not good."

"Do you really think he'd do something in here, in the middle of the commissary?" Janet asked sceptically. She knew how much Sam meant to Jake and was absolutely sure he'd do nothing to hurt her. Besides, the two weren't doing anything suspicious, just cueing for food like everyone else!

"You're probably right," Sam answered, although her tone betrayed those words. She was anything but sure they'd be safe here.

"Come on," Jack tried to cheer her up, "We can wait and worry about _if_ and what they might be up to, or we can actually eat our food before it gets cold. Besides, being humiliated is _so_ much more fun when you've got a full belly."

"Indeed," Teal'c replied, heartily tucking into his food. _He_ didn't need to worry about anything, after all. However, he also made sure the small, high resolution digital camera he bought on the internet a couple of month ago was within easy reach and ready for action. So far he had managed to keep it a secret even from his friends, enabling him to make some rather interesting discoveries. The day after he received it, he accidentally activated it in a briefing, taking a rather boring picture of legs under the conference table. Ever since then he took it everywhere in the SGC, and, having disabled the flash, unknowingly taking pictures – and enjoying the often weird looking but sometimes blackmail-worthy results at night.

In the end Sam was able to relax again as Jake and Dixon were joined by the rest of SG13 only minutes later, and after coming by their table to say hello, they settled two tables down, digging into their food as well. She soon enjoyed her meal again, not to mention the gently caresses Jack managed to sneak in - more or less unnoticed - under the table.

It was a sign of just how much everyone was relaxed at SG1's table, that only Teal'c saw the little lights of the surveillance cameras going off. Catching Dave's eyes at the same time, he nodded ever so slightly, telling him he knew _something_ was up, yet he didn't intend to interfere.

For now.

A short while later Janet and Sam had finished their dessert and were quietly giggling about one thing or another while Daniel and Jack just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, when Teal'c saw General Hammond enter – or rather sneak into – the commissary. It definitely looked like the show was about to start.

Smiling to himself, Teal'c leaned back and relaxed – though not without taking several sweeps with his camera under the table to see if his friends behaved properly, yet hoping for a bit of black-mail material there as well - waiting for the things to come.

Meanwhile, Jake was still contemplating the best approach when – almost too cliché – a couple of marines gave him a better opening than he would ever have been able to construct himself.

"Dr Pullman! Finally seen the light and retreated from the battlefield, I assume?" Major Kerrington asked non too quietly as he passed Jake's table.

Jake simply rolled his eyes while the rest of Kerrington's team snickered and chose a table nearby. However, those in hearing distance of this comment went quiet, too stunned to say anything _and_ too curious to miss what might come of it. Because one thing was for sure, if _they_ heard the remark, then _SG1_ did too. And there was not one single person that didn't know who the comment was directed at.

Of course, given the nature of the SGC's mission, once one part of the commissary went completely silent, everyone else started to wonder what exactly had happened and in less than a minute everybody's attention was around Jake's and SG1's table.

Sighing theatrically – loud enough for everyone to hear – Jake got up and walked towards his sister. The commissary was so quiet, that his footsteps were almost unbearable loud in his own ears. But he had do what had to be done. In the end he only had his sister's happiness in his mind and if he had a bit of fun with Jack – okay, _and_ Sam - in the meantime, well, that was a nice bonus.

Quickly covering the short distance to her – he didn't want to give Sam an out after all – Jake stopped, smirking down at her.

Then, surprising everyone in the commissary, he knelt down on one knee, taking Sam's hand in his, gently kissing her fingertips.

Sam would have laughed at the murmuring suddenly filling the room if she didn't just happen to be the one everyone was focused on. So instead she settled for a quick eye-roll at Jake, who gave her his best 'I'm over the heels in love with you'-look in return.

And then he started to speak.

"Samantha, I loved you since I first laid my eyes on you. Not one single day has past since then, in which my admiration and love for you hasn't grown."

During that short statement the commissary went from quite murmurings to stunned silence to surprised and shocked gasps. Although, those having bet money on a future Sam and Jake relationship were actually starting to grin.

"Your smile is enough to light up the room and your genius saved all of us more than once – or so I've been told," Jake added, getting a few chuckles on the last bit.

Using his free hand to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, he continued, "You're are highly regarded by so many people not only in this country, but also beyond our _planet_, making me prouder than I can ever tell you."

By now, every single soul in the commissary held their breath again to not miss anything that was said. However, several people nodded their approval to Jake's latest comments. And Teal'c kept on taking hidden pictures.

"You travel amongst the stars and using and adapting alien technologies with a naturalness that amazes me every day anew. You are so unbelievable strong, you fought and won more battles than I'll ever know – and even if you loose a battle, you just come back stronger to win the war. You are my hero and I can't imagine ever losing you," Jake added seriously, though with his eyes shining proudly, meaning every single word he said.

Even though she didn't want to, tears started to gather in Sam's eyes, but they weren't falling, yet. Under the table, Jack gently squeezed her hand, knowing how much her brother's words meant to her.

Almost to choked up to speak, Sam gently stroke Jake's cheek and could only whisper in reply, "I love you too, and you won't loose me, Jake." Her voice stronger now, she added mischievously, "You'd get into _way_ too much trouble without me."

"Hey!" Jake protested pouting, while everyone else was smirking or snickering.

Knowing he'd have the final laughs on his side though, Jake quickly continued, "As I was saying, I loved you since the day we met. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and seeing that the kids want me to buy them all sorts of things I'm in desperate need for money."

Taking a break to let everything sink in – and having referred to _the_ kids instead of _my_ kids sure added lots of speculations for the bystanders who promptly responded with shocked gasps and the like – Jake finally winked at Sam and, standing up but keeping her hand in his, continued, "Therefore, I'll just settle a couple of bets and collect my money."

All of a sudden, the warmth and gooiness caused by Jake's loving words vanished from Sam's body. When she tried to get her hand back from her brother, he just grinned at her evilly and simply held onto it tighter. At the same time Jack couldn't do anything but squeeze Sam's other hand in reassurance, telling her they were into this together, no matter what. Besides, he didn't have choice anyway.

Haven given everyone time to think over his last sentence for a couple of minutes, Jake asked grinning, "I presume everybody here remembers the lovely show of affection between our beloved Doc Frasier and Dr. Jackson last week?"

Smiling at the confirming wolf-whistles from several people in the room, Jake asked no–one in particular, "So I suppose you wouldn't mind a little add-on to the SGC's love stories?"

Sam's weak, "Yes!" was easily drowned out by several "No!", "Go on!" or "Kiss her!" coming from all direction – including Daniel and Janet, which earned them disapproving looks from both Sam and Jack.

"Well, beloved Samantha, you heard them. I can't do anything against it, it's what they want," Jake told his sister, grinning mischievously and kissing the back of her hand.

At this point, Ferretti had enough and decided to help out Jack, because he sure needed it by the look of things! So, standing up, he shouted in the general direction of Jack's table, "Come on, Jack! _Do_ something! Don't let that lover-wannabe take your girl away. You're giving the Air Force a rather bad name here!"

Groaning at Ferretti's interference, Jack nevertheless stood up to face Jake and tried to – unsuccessfully – stare him down.

"Finally," Jake commented dryly, loud enough for everyone to hear and causing quite a few people to almost choke in shock.

Then, after a second of astonishment, the commissary was filled with more or less quiet questions flying around.

"Is he _mad_?"

"Didn't he know _who_ exactly he was up against?"

"Is he tired of his life or something?"

"Is this guy for real?"

"Who _is_ this guy?"

"He's _so_ dead!"

Waiting a short time for Jack to do something, _anything_ really, Jake sighed and held up his hands to quieten everyone down. Which, amazingly enough, worked. Turning back to look at Jack again, still getting no response from him though, Jake finally threw his arms in the air, exclaiming exasperated, "Oh fer crying out loud, Jack! What else do I have to do to get you to act?"

"Yep, he's definitely mad."

"… _and_ tired of his life."

"… _and_ deader than dead."

Rolling his eyes at the comments coming from all around him, Jake continued, "Come on, Jack. Do you want me to actually _spell_ it for you?"

When Jack had stood up a few moments before, he managed to make short eye contact with Sam – something Jake hadn't noticed. However, he and Sam had one of their infamous silent conversations in which Jack told her he had an idea, asking her to play along, to trust him. Which, of course, she did.

So, going with his plan, Jack just stood there, slightly in front of Sam, shrugging his shoulders and raising his eyebrows nonchalantly at Jake.

Jake sighed. Great, now Jack was being uncooperative too. He had to give it to him though, Jack was doing the _one_ thing neither he nor Dave had expected – and that was staying calm and doing nothing, therefore leaving the ball in Jake's court. And judging by the slight smirk on Jack's face, he knew that Jake knew what he was doing. Bah.

Sighing again and shaking his head at the two people in front of him, Jake said overdramatically, "Fine. You win. Congrats."

This, of course, baffled most people in the room. Huh? Jack won? Just like that? After that long declaration of love for Sam – which she reciprocated, too - while Jack did nothing? Nothing at all!

Trying to hide his smile at the confusion written over so many faces around the commissary, Jake set out to deliver his final remark. "But would you please, _please_ end everyone's misery and confusion and actually go ahead and _kiss_ my little sister senseless?"

"If you insist," Jack replied smirking.

Then, turning Sam around in his arms so she'd face him, he dipped her low and started to kiss her. It only took this initial contact of their lips to let both of them forget their surroundings and their kiss quickly became anything but chaste and innocent.

It took a while for Sam to realise that the roar of the surf she thought she was hearing – despite not being anywhere near the sea – were actually people cheering and wolf-whistling. It took another couple of minutes of blissful kissing that she realised just what, or rather _who_, they were cheering and wolf-whistling at!

Blushing brightly, she tried to gently push Jack away and to get both of them in an upright position again. "Jack?" she murmured against his lips and after getting no response, she repeated, louder, "Jack?"

"Hm?" he replied distracted, finding her bottom lip far more interesting than whatever she was trying to tell him.

"Commissary," Sam whispered breathlessly. Why was that a bad thing again? Oh god, Jack was _way_ to good with his lips.

It took a while for Sam's words – or rather word – to reach Jack's brain, but once it did, he reluctantly let go of Sam, _after_ stealing a final and more gentle kiss.

As soon as Jack released her – well, at least her lips - Sam buried her head in the crook of his neck, that way giving herself another minute to catch her breath and, more importantly, getting ready to face the crowd. Or maybe-?

"Dream?" she whispered hopefully into Jack's ear.

"Nope," he replied, using the opportunity to brush a soft kiss on her cheek. He couldn't help himself, but now that the cat was out of the bag, he couldn't stop kissing and touching Sam.

"Damn," Sam said whole-heartedly.

Chuckling, Jack only hugged her closer, then he turned and ended up looking directly into Jake's eyes.

"Is that what you had in mind?" Jack asked cockily, raising his eyebrows – and the crowed roared and cheered in agreement.

"Well-" Jake started thoughtfully but was interrupted by a way too gleeful Daniel, commenting, "Actually, 'Get a room!' comes to ones mind!".

"Hear, hear!"

"Great show, Jack!"

"Good one, Daniel!"

"It's about damn time!"

Once the room had quietened down a bit, Jake continued ruefully, "As I was going to say, I could sure have done with a bit less of a show." Then again, he was pretty sure he was alone with that particular opinion.

"Hey! You said, and I quote, kiss my little sister senseless! And now you complain about me doing exactly that?" Jack replied in mocked shock, adding – or rather grumbling – "Spoil-sport."

"Ja-ack!" Sam groaned embarrassed, deciding to better stay right where she was. Hidden against Jack's shoulder.

And then, suddenly, someone actually connected to dots.

"Whoa! Wait!" Ferretti shouted, immediately having everyone's attention on himself. "Did you just say _little sister_?"

"Sure did," Jake replied grinning.

"No kidding?" Ferretti asked in astonishment, somehow having become the spokesperson for everyone else.

"Nope," Jake confirmed.

Before Ferretti could reply to that though, Dave stepped in.

"Okay, now that we have established the Carter's plan to take over the SGC," he started, getting some chuckles for his efforts, "we can move to the more important things."

"What's that?" Ferretti asked confused when Dave didn't continue on his own.

"Videos!" Dave exclaimed happily, holding up his digital camera and pointing to his team members that were strategically standing around the commissary, holding up cameras as well.

"Oh god!" Sam groaned quietly, while the room broke into loud cheers again.

"Ssh," Jack replied just as quietly, rubbing her back gently. "Just play along and we'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure about that," Sam replied sceptically, lifting her head from Jack's shoulder and looking into his eyes.

"Trust me. It will be fine," Jack tried to reassure her, gently kissing her forehead. "Okay?"

"Okay," Sam finally agreed, "It's not like we have a choice, anyway."

No sooner than she said that, the commissary quietened down again and Dave continued, "Now, I know some might be thinking, why go to good 'ol me for this nice piece of art when you are friends with the guys and gals manning the security cameras?"

"Well, it's a valid thought, isn't it?" Someone asked.

"Of course," Dave continued grinning, "However, as the security cameras in here _unfortunately_ malfunctioned for the last 15 minutes or so, I'm afraid that option is out of the question."

"Sneaky bastards!" One of the marines commented good-naturedly.

"Why, thank you!" Jake replied, bowing slightly as if he was on a stage and bowing to his audience. "Of course, the two lovebirds get their copy for free, but I'm afraid everyone else has to pay!"

"However," Dave picked up where Jake had stopped, "As I don't want to end up dead in some forgotten closet-"

"I thought more along the lines of alive and naked in here, but please, continue," Jack interrupted cheekily to the snickers of their audience.

Swallowing hard, twice, Dave continued, "Uhm, as – like I said – I value my life, all of the money from the video sale will go to a charity of Lt. Col. Carter's and Col. O'Neill's choice."

"So, everyone interested email me or Col. Dixon their request and, once you paid, you'll get the video," Jake finished for Dave, pleased with the outcome of this lunchtime.

Teal'c couldn't help himself but admit that this was a rather nicely planned ambush and he always admired good plans. He might just have to go and see those two and offer the unique pictures he took with his camera – in return for his own copy of the video, of course.

Before the people in the commissary could start talking again, General Hammond – to the shocked surprise of almost everyone - stepped out of his hiding place and went straight to Sam and Jack. "It's about damn time," he commented good naturedly, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, sir," both Sam and Jack replied, though Sam was the only one blushing.

"Though as much as I, and everyone else, I'm sure, enjoyed your little show earlier, I hope repeats are only going to take place off-base from now on," General Hammond added smiling, yet also being serious.

"Yes sir," Sam replied, and, after hitting Jack playfully on the arm, he too, agreed.

"Good. Now, as much as I love to stay, I have work to do," General Hammond continued. Looking pointedly around the room, he added, "And as I am sure, so has everyone else."

Even though as everyone did as General Hammond suggested, it took quite some time for the commissary to clear out, as everybody had to go by SG1's table, congratulating Sam and Jack. While there were a few suggestive and implicative remarks, all were given in good nature and Sam had to admit that Jack was right – even the Marines showed nothing but support for them.

Unfortunately, even SG1 and Janet had to go back to work, so – after checking the security cameras were still out – Jack kissed Sam again before him and Teal'c headed to the gym to have some fun with the not-so-new-anymore recruits. Daniel quickly hugged Sam before he, too, had to go back to work. With Janet being the only one left, Sam decided to take the long way – via the infirmary, that is – back to her lab, so she and Janet could have a chat. And boy did she need it! But, in the end, she had just as big a grin plastered on her face as everyone else witnessing what was soon becoming to be known as the 'Love Luncheon Monday'.

xoxoxoxoxo

Later that day, Sam was focusing on the readouts of her latest test on the alien device she was currently working on, a sudden knock disrupted the silence of her lab, startling her. Though nobody was there when she looked up. Shaking her head, Sam was just about to start reading again, when suddenly a make-shift white flag appeared in the door.

Wondering what that was about, Sam waited and sure enough, the flag was followed by an arm and a leg, both covert in white clothing. Shaking her head in astonishment, she sighed deeply, saying, "Hi Jake."

Sam couldn't help herself but start laughing when her brother fully entered the room. He was wearing white scrubs that must have come from the infirmary, basically impersonating a white flag himself. He was even wearing a white hat!

"Forgive me?" Jake asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes impression.

Sam didn't reply straight away but raised her eyebrow at Jake, her posture clearly saying something like 'Why should I'?

"_Please_?" Jake pleaded, kneeling down and raising his hands in a begging posture.

Snorting, Sam rolled her eyes, holding her hand out to him, "Come here."

After releasing his sister from an extra-long bear-hug, Jake gently moved her an arm-length away from him, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

Finally, he grinned, saying, "Yep. That's what I thought."

"What now?" Sam asked slightly confused. She'd let him scrutinize her without even batting an eyelid, but the least she could expect was a proper explanation. Right?

"You are essentially beaming with joy," Jake clarified rather pleased with himself.

"Don't be silly," Sam replied dismissively, yet also blushed at her brother's words.

"I'm not being silly, I'm serious. You are simply glowing with happiness from the inside. Which, by the way, is a very good thing. Jack is really good for you," Jake continued, giving his sister another hug. "And if you tell anyone how sappy I'm right now, I'm going to deny everything."

Laughing, Sam boxed Jake on his chest, freeing herself from his embrace. "I'll just sell the video to everyone in the SGC."

"Smart-ass!" Jake answered grinning. "Guess I deserved it, though, huh?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" Sam asked, eyebrow raised provocatively.

Smirking, Jake said, "Come on, you've got to admit that the gossiping around here was getting ridiculous! Did Jack tell you how Dr. Felger approached him about me on your last mission? I mean, I was laughing so hard, I could have hurt myself! And poor Dave actually _did_ pull a muscle when I told him the story! And that was just the tip of the iceberg. So, as you can see, we just _had_ to do something before anyone could get hurt seriously."

"Just promise me to never grow up completely, okay?" Sam commented, suddenly feeling rather sappy herself.

"Never!" Jake replied, giving her his best boyish grin. "So everything turned out okay?" Jake added, and somehow both knew he wasn't just talking about today.

"Yes," Sam started, her voice wavering a tiny bit. Taking a deep breath, she repeated in her usual strong voice, "Yes, I'm fine." And she truly was. True, the loss of her son still hurt every single day, but now she could remember all the good times they had and draw strength from it. Thanks to her family and friends, she had her life back under control.

"Good," Jake replied. Then, getting a far-away look and smiling gently in reminiscence, he continued, "Do you remember what Mom always used to say when we got hurt or felt miserable?"

Reflecting Jake's smile, Sam cited, "Whatever happens in your life, just remember this one thing, the power of love will give you your best times and help you through your worst times."

"Exactly. And if I'm not mistaken are your good times about to take you home," Jake replied, turning in time to see Jack, already in his civvies, entering the lab.

"Did I miss something?" Jack quipped curiously, feeling like he just interrupted a rather intimidate moment between brother and sister.

"Naw. I was just about to leave," Jake replied, kissing Sam's forehead before leaving the room. Just as he passed Jack though, he continued, "Take good care of her, okay?"

"I intend to," Jack replied just as serious, going over to Sam, taking her into his arms. "For the rest of our life."

THE END.

* * *

_A/N: Phew, mind you, when I thought I had this chapter almost finished, Muse turned up and it's now about twice as long as I thought it would be! LOL. Anyway, I think it got a bit sappy at the end, but I hope you still like it! I was thinking about maybe writing an epilogue, mainly as Sam's POV, but am not sure about it, yet. So I'm always open to your opinions :-D!!_

_Anyway, I want to thank everyone going on this (unexpected) epic journey with me and staying till the end. I thought I'd finish the story I planned at the start in about 10 chapters and MUCH shorter time. LOL. Of course, a very special thanks to everyone who reviewed – especially those who took their time to review far more than just once! I'm not sure I'd have managed to finish it without all your kind words! Thank you, thank you, thank you! _


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